The Hindu : National : Three months time-frame suggested for finalising report on women’s Bill

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Three months time-frame suggested for finalising report on women’s Bill

Neena Vyas

To be briefed on women’s reservations in panchayats
Rotation of seats also discussed

NEW DELHI: A time-frame of about three months has been suggested for finalising the report of the standing committee considering the Women’s Reservation Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha at the end of the Budget session.

At its first meeting here on Tuesday, the committee, attached to the Ministry of Law and Justice, laid down the modalities to take on board views of not only political parties but also the public. Regional sittings are to be held in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai during June.

Talking to The Hindu, Chairman of the Committee Sudarsana Natchiappan said many members made suggestions and placed before the committee their views broadly reflecting their known party positions. The next two meetings would be held on June 3 and 10.

He also confirmed that political parties — five national and 45 regional — have been requested to place their views by June 10 to help the committee evolve a consensus. On June 17 and 18 party representatives could come and place their views.

The sittings in Chennai (June 22-24), Kolkata (June 25-26) and Mumbai (June 27-28) would help regional party representatives to give their views. The public have also been invited to submit their views in writing or in person.

One of the suggestions that came up at Tuesday’s meeting was that the committee should study women’s reservation as obtaining at the panchayat level, a point to which one member reportedly remarked that no study had been made of how male members had been functioning in panchayats. The outcome was that the Secretary for Panchayati Raj is to brief the committee on the different forms of women’s reservations in panchayats adopted by various State governments, with reservations for women going up to 50 per cent with a minimum of 33.3 per cent. The question of rotation of seats also came up. One member wanted to know how the seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and State assemblies would be rotated and which authority would identify the new seats that would be reserved for women. The other contentious issues — quota for Other Backward Classes, Muslims and Scheduled Castes and Tribes within the overall women’s quota — also came up.

The Bill as introduced at the end of the Budget session and the previous reports on the issue are before the committee already. It is pointed out that a quota for SC/STs within the quota for women is part of the Bill. While some members felt that the Bill should not be rushed through, others (mainly the three women members) pointed out that the Bill has been pending for over a decade. It was not at all a question of rushing through with the legislation, but a question of not delaying it further.

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