Get women quota Bill passed, Sonia asks PM

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 21

Mounting pressure on the BJP-led NDA, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Women Reservation Bill pending in the Lok Sabha, and urged him to get it passed. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies for women.

In a letter to Modi, Sonia has urged him to take advantage of his majority in the Lok Sabha to get the Bill through. She assured her party’s support to the cause.

The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 9, 2010, during the UPA rule while Sonia Gandhi was its Chairperson and subsequently sent to the Lok Sabha where it has been lying dormant since then. “The Congress has always and will continue to support this legislation which will be a significant step towards women empowerment,” she said.

The Bill, also known as the Constitution (108 Amendment) Bill, 2008, has a torrid past. It was first introduced in the LS on September 12, 1996, under the United Front government headed by HD Deve Gowda, and several times later, but could not be legislated upon due to lack of political consensus.

After Sonia’s letter, the Congress took a high moral ground on the question of women empowerment. Coming upfront, it questioned Modi’s sincerity towards the cause of women empowerment he espoused during his 2014-General Election campaign.

A delegation of the women wing of the party will soon meet President Ram Nath Kovind on the issue. The party’s signature campaign favouring the passage of the Bill has been completed. 

The Congress move is smart and topical as reports suggest that the government has been toying with the idea of getting the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. It would like to be seen as a progenitor of the progressive legislation, especially when it was passed in the Upper House during it rule.