New Delhi: Women's Reservation Bill appears to remain a distant dream for the 14th Lok Sabha too.
As the Parliament session, the last of the current Lok Sabha, commences on Thursday, the Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, is not listed.
Asked whether the Bill will be brought up in the short session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi today said the Parliamentary Standing Committee to which the Bill has been referred to is yet to give its report.
"The bill is not listed," he said after an all-party floor coordination meeting convened by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday.
A consensus has been eluding the Bill for over a decade now.
The legislation was drafted by the Deve Gowda-led United Front government and introduced in Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996.
Though it has been introduced in Parliament several times since then, the Bill could not be passed because of lack of political consensus.
Its advocates say the Bill is essential for active political participation of women, while its opponents argue that the quota as envisaged in the measure would only help women of elite groups gain political power, aggravating the plight of poor and deprived sections.
Comments
0 comment