Women’s Reservation Bill Sparks Heated Parliamentary Debate

In a recent parliamentary session, women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Smriti Irani, and Mahua Moitra, played prominent roles in discussing the Women’s Reservation Bill. The bill proposes a 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, slated for implementation after the 2029 elections.

Sonia Gandhi, former Congress chief, strongly supported the bill but demanded immediate implementation and the inclusion of reservation for OBC women. She emphasized that any further delay would be a grave injustice to Indian women and called for a caste census to determine reservation provisions for SC, ST, and OBC women.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra criticized the bill, labeling it a “sham” with limitations that amounted to “legislatively-mandated procrastination.” She expressed both pride and disappointment, highlighting the low representation of women in the Lok Sabha compared to global and regional averages.

Union Minister Smriti Irani, in her response, took a dig at the Congress and accused them of trying to take undue credit for the bill’s introduction. She emphasized the role of PV Narasimha Rao in passing the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution. Irani also noted Sonia Gandhi’s earlier stance on not reserving seats for SC/ST women, pointing out that the current bill guarantees such reservations.

The parliamentary debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill was marked by passionate arguments and strong positions, reflecting the significance of gender representation in Indian politics.

Re-reported from the article originally published in LiveMint