The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared the women’s reservation bill in a key meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced Union minister Prahlad Patel. There was a strong buzz over the Cabinet move but the government skipped the customary press briefing post the Cabinet meeting.
Reacting to the development, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X (formally Twitter), “It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy.”
He also shared a detailed post he made on Sunday to underline how the Congress has been supporting the move.
“The Congress Working Committee has demanded that the Women’s Reservation Bill must be passed during the Special Session of Parliament,” he said quoting the CWC resolution that was passed at its meeting in Hyderabad this weekend.
Ramesh had on September 17 said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi first introduced the Constitution Amendment Bills for one-third reservation in panchayats and nagarpalikas in May 1989. It passed in Lok Sabha but failed in Rajya Sabha in September 1989, he noted.
He also said then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao reintroduced Constitution Amendment Bills for one-third reservation for women in panchayats and nagarpalikas in April 1993. Both Bills passed and became law.
“Now there are more than 15 lakh elected women representatives in panchayats and nagarpalikas. This comes to about 40 percent.
“As PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh brought Constitution Amendment Bill for one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. Bill passed on March 9, 2010 in the Rajya Sabha. But it was not taken up in Lok Sabha,” Ramesh claimed.
He said Bills introduced/passed in Rajya Sabha do not lapse and the Women’s Reservation Bill is still very much active.
“The Congress party has for the past nine years been demanding that the Women’s Reservation Bill already passed by the Rajya Sabha should now get passed by the Lok Sabha as well,” he said.
