New Delhi:
Reports of the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill by the Union Cabinet have been welcomed by the Congress, which had started the initiative to increase space for women in Parliament. Today, Jairam Ramesh, in charge of party communications, not only posted a history of the bill on X, formerly Twitter, he also posted a 2018 letter from Rahul Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is now being widely circulated.
The UPA government had drafted the bill in 2008, but it was shelved after it was passed by the Senate two years later. Though the BJP and Congress have always supported the bill, there have been hurdles in the form of opposition from other parties and demands for quotas for backward classes within the women’s quota.
Mr Gandhi’s tweet, dated July 16, 2018, read: “Our Prime Minister says he is a crusader for women empowerment? Time for him to rise above party politics, walk his talk and get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Parliament. Congress offers him its unconditional support.”
In the letter, he pointed out that the bill was passed in the Upper House with the support of the BJP and was called ‘historic and momentous’ by late Union Minister Arun Jaitley, who was then the Leader of the Opposition. “On the issue of women empowerment, let us stand together, rise above party politics and send a message to India that we believe the time for change has come,” he had added.
Our Prime Minister says he is a crusader for women’s empowerment? It is time for him to rise above party politics, voice his opinion and get the Women’s Reservation Act passed by Parliament. The Congress offers him its unconditional support.
Please find attached my letter to the Prime Minister. #MahilaAakroshpic.twitter.com/IretXFFvvK
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 16, 2018
Before the Parliament session, there was a lot of fuss about the government supporting the bill and opposition leaders pushing for women’s reservations.
The issue also came up during discussions on day one before the special session.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, while discussing ‘Parliamentary journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – achievements, experiences, memories and lessons’, pointed out the skewed gender ratio among elected representatives and said that Parliament has only 14 percent women and their number in legislatures meetings is only 10 percent.
Later in the evening, Mr Ramesh posted on X, formerly Twitter: “It has been a long standing demand of the Congress party to introduce women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the bill. were very well discussed at the all-party meeting prior to the special session, and consensus could have been reached instead of operating under a veil of secrecy.”
The government had made no announcement about its discussions during tonight’s cabinet meeting. It even skipped the traditional post-meeting media briefing, upping the excitement quotient. Later, sources said that the law on women’s quota has been given the green light by the cabinet.
