Union Cabinet Clears Women Reservation Bill, To Be Tabled During Parliament Special Session: Govt Sources

Amid the opposition’s demand to introduce and hold a discussion on the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill, the Union Cabinet met on Monday evening after the first day of the special session of Parliament. The Cabinet has reportedly cleared the bill which aims to ensure the reservation of 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies was cleared by the Union cabinet this evening.

According to PTI, while there was no official word on the agenda items before the Cabinet, the meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself and came after the PM’s comment earlier today that “historic decisions” will be taken in this special session.

Meanwhile, the Congress has welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision to clear the Women’s Reservation Bill but said the same could have been discussed during the all-party meeting called a day before the commencement of the special session of the parliament.

“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,” Congress Spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Ever since it was announced that the Parliament session would be held from September 18-22, there has been speculation on various bills, including the women’s reservation bill, that may come up during the session.

What is the Women’s Reservation Bill?

This Women’s Reservation Bill proposed reserving one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women and included a quota-within-quota for SCs, STs, and Anglo-Indians.

Reserved seats were to rotate after each general election, ensuring that all constituencies would eventually be reserved.

However, the bill has faced several controversies and witnessed a turbulent fate with the introduction of many similar bills in 1996, 1998, and 1999.

In 2008, the Bill finally saw some hope when it made passage in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 however, it lapsed due consideration due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

On Monday During a discussion on ‘The Parliamentary Journey of 75 Years Starting from Samvidhan Sabha, the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress said, “Women Reservation Bill should come. We all tried. This issue if you (Chair) raise then they will.”

Kharge highlighted the small numbers of women lawmakers in parliament, saying they constituted only 14 per cent in both houses combined, while their number in legislative assemblies is just 10 per cent.

Opposition Leaders React on Women’s Reservation Bill

The Congress has welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision to clear the Women’s Reservation Bill for discussion in the parliament.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “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.”

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said that while Congress is ready to offer unconditional support to the government for the bill, he asked what took the PM so long to ponder upon the legislature.

“Our PM says he’s a crusader for women’s empowerment. Time for him to rise above party politics, walk his talk and have the Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Parliament. The Congress offers him its unconditional support,” wrote Gandhi.

BRS leader K Kavitha also welcomed the government’s move to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill and said her party will support the government whenever it brings it into the parliament.

“We thank  PM Modi if it is true because we have nothing seen official,” said Kavitha.

“Those who sit in the opposition trying to take credit on the Women Reservation Bill should be ashamed of themselves. They did nothing but make noise. Empty vessels make noise. What did you do when in power for so many years,” wrote Khushboo Sundar on X.