The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared the Women’s Reservation Bill. The announcement was first made by Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on X, formerly Twitter. “Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women’s reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations PM Narendra Modi and congratulations to the PM Modi government,” the Minister was quoted as saying by ANI.
"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations PM Narendra Modi and congratulations to the PM Modi government," tweets Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel https://t.co/P1Ivxtil8H pic.twitter.com/tUrn2hy2ZQ
— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023
The I.N.D.I Alliance jumped to claim credit for the same with the Congress leading the credit war within the alliance. Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, “The Congress party has been demanding the implementation of women’s reservation for a long time. We welcome the Union Cabinet decision reportedly coming forward and look forward to the details of the Bill.”
“This could have been thoroughly discussed in the all-party meeting before the special session and a consensus could have been reached instead of behind-the-scenes politics,” he further added.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi when asked about the Bill as she entered the new Parliament House of India responded saying, “It’s ours, apna hai.”
Sonia gandhi – “ it’s our bill “ pic.twitter.com/reiKG6diAj
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) September 19, 2023
Moreover, as the government presented the Bill in Parliament, Congress MPs continued to object to the parts of Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal’s address where he mentioned the reason for the repeated lapse of the Bill over 27 years.
Opposition parties, including those who were members of the UPA, like SP, RJD, LJP, and JDU were some of the parties whose leaders in the Parliament vehemently opposed and stalled the passage of the Bill.
The Vajpayee government introduced the Bill in the Parliament at least six times but the same was blocked thanks to the Congress. Lacking a majority, the Vajpayee government was dependent on the Opposition for consensus.
In 2010, the then-Congress government passed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha with the support of the BJP. But the Congress failed to garner consensus amongst its own partners and MPs in order to pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Several House disruptions by the Opposition leaders who today are claiming credit for the Bill delayed it for 27 years. In 1998, RJD MP Surendra Prakash Yadav snatched the Bill from the hands of then Union Law Minister M. Thambi Durai. Accompanied by colleague Ajit Kumar Mehta, he then dashed to the Speaker’s table to pick up more copies in an attempt to destroy them.
The Opposition MPs, who were in power back then, created a ruckus when the bill was tabled in Rajya Sabha. Subhash Yadav (RJD), Sabir Ali (LJP), Veerpal Singh Yadav, Nand Kishore Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Kamal Akhtar (all SP), and Ejaz Ali (Unattached), created a commotion in the house when the bill was brought in Rajya Sabha and was therefore, suspended.
In 2010, SP member Abu Asim Azmi and his party colleagues tried to snatch the bill copy from the then-law minister Hansaraj Bhardwaj. “Take back the Women’s Reservation Bill” was among the slogans raised by the SP members from the well of the Rajya Sabha.
As if that were not enough, former SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav raked up the Muslim quota which received support from Muslim Congress MPs C.K. Jaffer Sharief and Shakeel Ahmad Khan. They supported Mulayam who disrupted the House proceedings saying, “We must stand united against the bill.”
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal too had doubted the constitutionality of the 73rd and 74th amendments of 1993, which reserved one-third of municipal and panchayat seats for women.
In fact, in 2010, Sonia Gandhi accepted that there was opposition to the Bill from within her own party which resulted in the shelving of the legislation.
Putting up my 2010 interview with Mrs gandhi once again as the women bill was passed – but she admitted many in her govt were against it so it could not become a reality – pic.twitter.com/bcbbh3TStQ
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) September 18, 2023
In 1997, late RJD leader Sharad Yadav told the Lok Sabha, “Kaun mahila hai, kaun nahin hai, keval baal-kati mahila bahar nahin rehne denge (Who is a woman, who is not, only short-haired women won’t be allowed). This sexist comment by the late RJD MP came at the time the Bill was in the news.
The then SP Chief, late Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the reservation will not benefit rural women from the villages as they are not attractive enough. In 2010, he said that if the Bill is passed, the Parliament will be full of women who will invite catcalls and whistles.
While his son today is preaching that the reservation should be clear in definite percentage for backward, Dalit, minority and tribal women, his father had said in 1999, “I am not in favour of 33 per cent reservation for women. This should be reduced. It should be reduced to a maximum of 10 per cent.”
Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2010 had said that his party would oppose the Women’s Reservation Bill “tooth and nail and are even prepared to be marshalled out.” In 1998, too, Lalu spoke of the “grave threat” posed by women’s reservation to the “forces of social justice”.
JDU leaders like Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi gave religious colour to the Bill saying, “When there is talk of reservation for women in this House, many social things are left behind. We and the people of our party directly believe that whenever this is considered, there should be provision for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and backward classes within it. At that time, definitely, the 20 per cent minority people living inside India should be thought of first”.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, although not part of the I.N.D.I Alliance, in 2010 termed the Bill as “regressive” and claimed that it was not in the interests of Muslims. He also claimed that the Women’s reservation bill would be a `death knell’ for his community as the House will eventually turn into a ‘Hindu Lok Sabha’.
Almost every Muslim clerical and social group, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or JUH (both factions), Jamaat- e Islami Hind, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ahle Hadees Hind, had signed up to oppose the Bill. The JUH also organised countrywide rallies demanding the implementation of the Misra panel report and against the Bill.
What is the Women’s Reservation Bill?
According to PRS Legislative Research, the Bill seeks to reserve one-third (33%) of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. One-third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of these groups in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies.
Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state of the union territory. Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Act.
Currently, women MPs reportedly make up less than 15% of Lok Sabha’s strength and their representation is below 10% in several state assemblies.
The History of Women’s Reservation Bill
The Women’s Reservation Bill had been pending for nearly 27 years. It was first tabled in the Parliament in 1996 by the HD Deve Gowda government. But the legislation lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Two years later in 1998, the Atal Bihar Vajpayee-led NDA government pushed the Bill again but it failed to garner support and lapsed again.
The Bill was subsequently reintroduced in 1999, 2002, and 2003 under the Vajpayee government but to no avail. The legislation was reintroduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6 May 2006. The Bill was eventually passed on 9 March 2010 in the Rajya Sabha.
However, the legislative lapsed in 2014 with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and was opposed by the RJD and the Samajwadi Party as they demanded caste-wise reservation for women.
