WOMEN’S QUOTA BILL

Every government has introduced the bill but never delivered on its promise. Will this time be any different?

What is Women’s Reservation bill all about?

It seeks to reserve one-third seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, by rotation. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi had introduced the concept in 1989 when he proposed 33% quota in panchayat and municipal bodies, a constitutional amendment was passed four years later. The Deve Gowda government introduced a bill to extend these quotas to Lok Sabha and assembly elections in 1996.

What’s the current status of the bill?

The UPA government joined hands with the BJP and the Left to get the bill passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010. The UPA, however, did not push the bill hard enough in Lok Sabha and it lapsed. The NDA will have to bring in a fresh bill.

So why hasn’t it been passed yet?

Male politicians have reservations on the law that would reduce the number of seats they can contest. On record, the SP, RJD and BSP – that do not have many women politicians in their ranks – want a quota within quota. That is, 27% of all women seats should be reserved for OBC women, 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs.

How many women are there is the Lok Sabha?

The number of women in Lok Sabha has grown from 5% in 1952 to over 11% in the 16th Lok Sabha, the highest so far.

What’s the future of the bill?

The NDA government has the numbers to get it past the LS and the Congress has pledged to back it up in the RS. It is just a question of when the BJP finds it politically convenient to pass it. One view in the BJP is that Modi should deliver on this agenda closer to the 2019 elections.