From reservation for the socially disadvantaged in the private sector to keeping 10 seats in Lok Sabha for those aged under 35 years, a special package for Dalits and backward communities in Bihar to a special Act to control floods in the state — these were some of the Private Member’s Bills introduced by MPs across party lines in the Lower House on Friday. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor introduced three Bills: demanding constitution of a high court bench in Thiruvananthapuram; 1% reservation for transgender persons across categories in government establishments, including educational institutions, and reservation of 10 seats in Lok Sabha for the youth. Speaking to The Indian Express, Tharoor said he felt the need for reserving 10 seats for those under 35 as the youth were grossly underrepresented in the Lower House. “It is very difficult for young people to be taken seriously in our political space. We hold the world record for the highest gap between the average age of Parliamentarians and the average age of the population they represent. Invariably all the young Parliamentarians are sons and daughters of politicians,” Tharoor said. The Thiruvananthapuram MP said his Bill has suggested that Parliament could decide how this reservation for youth would be brought about. He suggested that instead of reserving 10 seats beforehand, the Parliament could also decide to have 10 seats over and above its existing strength and then appoint 10 best candidates aged under 35 who had lost the Lok Sabha polls. On the Bill demanding setting up of a high court bench in Thiruvananthapuram, he said: “I have been fighting for an HC bench in Thiruvananthapuram for the past 15 years. Till 1956, it had a bench but after the formation of the state it ceased to exist as the high court went to Kochi. Today, two-thirds of the state government’s cases are going to HC. State is spending Rs 6 crore a year in TA/DA alone plus uncomputable cost of the absence of its officials from the capital. It is a huge drain on the exchequer.” Though Bihar has got a special financial package in the Union Budget, JD(U) MP from Gopalganj Alok Kumar Suman introduced a Bill demanding a separate special package for SC, ST and OBCs in the state. Said Suman: “Special package for Bihar is a separate matter. My intention is to get special assistance for the socially disadvantaged so that they can progress. This is over and above the package the Centre has given to Bihar.” Suman also introduced the Flood and Drought Control Bill, 2024 that seeks to set up a control board to manage floods and droughts in Bihar. Incidentally, the Budget allocated Rs 11,500 crore to Bihar for flood mitigation. Independent MP from Nagina Chandrashekhar Azad introduced a Bill to grant reservations to SC, ST and OBCs in the private sector. According to Chandrashekhar, the Centre has massively reduced government jobs by privatising government undertakings. This, he said, had made reservations infructuous. “So, it is imperative that reservations are provided in the private sector. Government jobs make up a miniscule percentage of all the jobs available in the country,” he said. Azad also introduced two other bills: one demanding hostels for disadvantaged sections of the society and another for free schooling for such sections. Congress MP from Kerala, Shafi Parambil, introduced a Private Member’s resolution that suggested setting up of a quasi-judicial authority to determine the airfares in order to ensure passengers were not fleeced by airlines in the name of free market. Parambil’s resolution was supported by members across party lines, including the BJP.
