"We welcome it...": Delhi Minister Atishi on Women's Reservation Bill
Sep 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 19 : Delhi Minister Atishi on Tuesday extended support to the Women's Reservation Bill, which was cleared by the union cabinet a day earlier.
"We welcome it. We extend our full support to this bill. There is a very limited representative of women in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Sabha as well, so definitely we welcome the bill", Atishi said while speaking to ANI.
"But I would like to say that there is already reservation in the municipality or Panchayats. Despite this, no major change occurs in the life of a common woman. We would want the government to provide reservations in government jobs too. This also should be introduced in the parliament", she added.
The Women's Reservation Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the government is bringing a new Bill to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies and that God has given him the opportunity to take forward the task of women empowerment.
Making his first speech in the new building of Parliament, the Prime Minister said the government has decided to bring Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
"Discussion on Women's Reservation Bill happened for a long time. During Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime Women's Reservation Bill was introduced several times but there was not enough majority to pass the Bill, and because of this this dream remained incomplete. Today, God has given me the opportunity to take this forward...Our government is bringing a new Bill today on Women's participation in both Houses," PM Modi said in Lok Sabha.
He said the Bill will strengthen democracy and appealed to members to pass it unanimously.
Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in 2010 and it was not taken up in Lok Sabha and lapsed in the lower House of Parliament.
The Women's Reservation Bill seeks to reserve 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. Despite being a crucial step towards gender parity and inclusive governance, the Bill has remained in legislative limbo for far too long.
