Congress demands passage of Women’s Reservation Bill in special session of Parliament

New Delhi [India]: A day ahead of the week-long special session of Parliament, the Congress party has yet again raised their demand for a greater reservation for women in legislative roles.

In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Congress Working Committee demands that the Women’s Reservation Bill must be passed during the special session of Parliament.

Praising the previous Congress governments, Jairam Ramesh said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi first introduced Constitution Amendment Bills for one-third reservation in panchayats and nagarpalikas in May 1989 — which passed in Lok Sabha but failed in Rajya Sabha.

“Prime Minister PV 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,” he said.

Former PM Manmohan Singh brought the Constitution Amendment Bill for one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. The Bill was passed on March 9, 2010 in the Rajya Sabha but was not taken up in Lok Sabha.

“Bills introduced/ passed in Rajya Sabha do not lapse. 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,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.

As per the Parliamentary Bulletin, released on Wednesday, a discussion on “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings” will be held in Parliament on the first day of the five-sitting long special session starting tomorrow.

Also, four bills including a Bill to regulate the appointment, conditions of service, and term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are part of the legislative business of the government for the session.

The other bills to be taken up include ‘The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ and ‘The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023’, which were already passed by Rajya Sabha on August 3, 2023.

‘The Post Office Bill, 2023’ has also been listed in the Lok Sabha business. The bill was earlier introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 10, 2023 and it repeals the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.