In a significant development, the Union Cabinet on Monday gave its nod for the passage of a bill to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, said sources. The Women’s Reservation Bill proposes to reserve 33 per cent or one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The bill also proposes sub-reservation for SCs, STs, and Anglo-Indians within the 33 per cent quota. The bill also proposes that reserved seats should be rotated after each general election. The sources further said that the bill will be tabled during the ongoing special session of Parliament.The Congress has welcomed the Union Cabinet’s move to clear the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill to introduce it during the ongoing special session of Parliament. The constitution amendment bill, once passed, will ensure reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.
Several attempts has been made since 1996 to formulate a law for legislative reservation for women, but failed. The UPA government in 2010 managed to pass the Bill in the Rajya Sabha but failed to table it in the Lok Sabha owing to some pressure from allies.