Somnath pushes for women’s Bill

The Speaker’s remarks come at a time when a parliamentary standing committee is studying the highly contentious Bill after its introduction in the Rajya Sabha during the last session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi has already indicated that the Government would like to pass the Bill during the monsoon session. While three major formations, the Congress, BJP and the Left Front, are in support of the Bill, providing for reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures, three important parties, RJD, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal(United), are pressing for sub-quotas for OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis and minority communities within the women’s quota.

Chatterjee said democracy has to be “inclusive in every sense of the term” for sustaining itself. “Gender disparity in terms of income distribution, access to resources and participation in the decision-making processes is, therefore, highly detrimental to democratic development,” he said, adding there was a glaring bias against women in all spheres of life.

“Women’s participation and empowerment at all levels of society is undoubtedly the key to propelling democracy forward,” he said. “I hope the revived interest in the proposed legislative initiative will be pursued to its logical conclusion.”