Hanging fire for 27 years: How Women Reservation Bill kept lapsing through its tumultuous journey
- September 19, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Hanging fire for 27 years: How Women Reservation Bill kept lapsing through its tumultuous journey
Subject: Polity
Section: Constitution
Introduction:
- The Women’s Reservation Bill, aimed at providing 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, has been a persistent yet unattained goal for Indian politics.
- Since its inception in 1996, the bill has faced numerous hurdles, primarily stemming from political resistance and a lack of consensus.
The First Attempt: United Front Government
- In September 1996, the Bill was introduced in Parliament by the H.D. Deve Gowda-led United Front government.
- A Joint Committee was formed to assess the bill’s provisions.
- Key recommendations included changing “not less than one third” to “as nearly as may be, one-third” to eliminate ambiguity and reservations for women in the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils.
- Nitish Kumar voiced dissent, advocating for OBC women’s inclusion in the reservation.
- The bill faced strong opposition and ultimately lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Second Attempt: NDA Government
- Between 1998 and 2004, the BJP-led NDA government, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, made multiple attempts to pass the bill.
- Despite several attempts, the bill failed to pass, and it lapsed again with the fall of the Vajpayee government in 1999.
Vajpayee Government’s Persistence
- After the reformation of the NDA government, the bill was reintroduced in 1999 but faced continued resistance from SP, BSP, and RJD members.
- Subsequent attempts in 2000, 2002, and 2003 also failed to gain traction.
- An all-party meeting in 2003 failed to build a consensus, leading to the bill’s eventual lapse.
UPA Pushes Forward
- The UPA government, led by Manmohan Singh, committed to introducing the bill, despite opposition.
- In 2008, the bill was finally introduced.
- The bill was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which recommended its passage without delay in 2009.
Red-Letter Day: March 9, 2010
- After 14 years of persistence, the Bill finally saw a breakthrough in 2010.
- The Rajya Sabha passed the bill with over a two-thirds majority,supported even by the BJP and Left, who were in the Opposition.
- Unfortunately, the UPA government didn’t demonstrate the political will to pass the bill in the Lok Sabha.
The 2010 Women’s Reservation Bill: Key Amendments
Lok Sabha Provisions:
- Proposed a new Article 330A, mirroring Article 330, to reserve seats for women in the Lok Sabha.
- Introduced a rotational system for one-seat states, reserving it for women in every third election.
- Allocating one-third of SC-ST reserved seats to women on a rotational basis.
- Reserved one of the two seats for Anglo-Indians for women in two of every three consecutive elections.
State Assemblies Provisions:
- Introduced Article 332A to reserve one-third of seats in state Legislative Assemblies for women.
- Similar to Lok Sabha, one-third of SC-ST reserved seats to be allocated to women on a rotational basis.
Special Status for Delhi:
- Amended Article 239AA to replace “Scheduled Castes” with “Scheduled Castes and women” in Delhi’s Legislative Assembly provisions.
Sunset Clause:
- Proposed an amendment to Article 334 to introduce a 15-year sunset clause for women’s reservation, aligning with existing sunset clauses for other reserved seats and special representation.