PM Narendra Modi’s government has presented the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill on the table of Parliament. With the enactment of this law, the way will be cleared for giving 33 percent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies for 15 years. The government has a majority in the Lok Sabha, and with the support of the opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, the path to its becoming law is almost clear. But it may be important to know who from the opposition first raised his voice in support of this bill?
In fact, in the South Indian state of Telangana, the ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), on behalf of the opposition, was the first to say in support of women’s reservation. From the time rumors of calling a special session of Parliament started, there was speculation that the government might bring a women’s reservation bill in the special session. At that time, big parties were busy debating what their stand should be at that time.
But BRS leader K. Kavita took the lead in this matter and while writing a letter on 5 September 2023, she appealed to all the opposition parties to support the Women’s Reservation Law. He also appealed to the Prime Minister to take the initiative to bring the women’s reservation law in the special session and also assured that his party will support his government in the House for this law.
Welcoming the introduction of the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill in the Parliament, K. Kavita has said that this will ensure women’s rights in democracy. He said that his party will always fight for the rights and respect of women. Describing this as a historic step, he said that this will make the role of women in the society more effective.
KCR also wrote a letter
Last week itself, on September 15, Telangana Chief Minister KCR wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding women’s reservation in the new Parliament. On this occasion, he had said that even after 75 years of the country’s independence, women’s participation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies has not increased substantially. The government should try to give women their rights by taking historic initiatives in the new Parliament. Ultimately his point was proved right and Modi government introduced women’s reservation in the House. Assembly elections are also to be held in Telangana at the end of this year. BRS may benefit from this stand.
Other parties also supported
After BRS’s support, other parties also became worried that if they did not support women’s reservation, they might have to suffer losses in the upcoming elections. After this, many opposition parties one after the other supported the idea of bringing women’s reservation bill. The largest opposition party Congress has also made it clear that it is with the Women’s Reservation Bill.
However, some local parties have not yet clarified their stand on this bill. From 1996 to 2010, whenever this bill was brought on the table of Parliament, it was opposed by these parties. He said that there should be separate reservation for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Tribe. In the new bill, reservation has been given for women only in the seats reserved for SC-ST categories.7a Now, what will be their stand in such a situation, it remains to be seen.
