Women's Reservation Bill:My view

I guess many of my readers(if any) are thinking why I discuss too much politics in my blog. This is because a wide range of thoughts pierce my head if the topic is a political one. Moreover,I  like blogging the hottest topic in town and I feel fulfilled in doing so.Let me get the matter straight...

Tuesday,March 9 will be marked in India's history as the most momentous occasion as that day witnessed the passing of The 108th Constitution Amendment Bill or the Women's reservation Bill in the Upper House,also called the Rajya Sabha.It reserves 33% of the seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women.The historic bill made it after struggling for 14 years.It was first planned to be passed in the Lower House or Lok Sabha when the United Front government was at the centre,headed by HD Deve Gowda in 1996.But failed to do so due to stiff opposition from other parties.So the idea was dropped then and there.

Later under the leadership of AB Vajpayee, the National Democratic Alliance formed the government in 1998,the bill was again wiped off its dust and passed in Lok Sabha.The bill met with the same fate as it did during the United Front regime.The bill was temporarily disposed off.

The NDA led government was knocked down by the United Progressive Alliance,a coalition government with Congress as its backbone.The Congress realized it was the right time to bring back the bill as it had successfully managed to get through its initial tenure(initial 5 years of government).The Congress did one-hell-of an intelligent move. It did not pass the bill in the Lok Sabha.Instead it did it in Rajya Sabha.The reason is the Lok Sabha has a total of 552 seats and for a bill to become a law,it should possess the backing of 2/3rd of the total strength of a House.In this case,it is 368 seats which is huge.Hence it passed the bill in Rajya Sabha,which has a total strength of 233.So it is enough if nearly 150 MPs voted in favor of the bill.

And to everyone's surprise the bill was successfully passed inspite of stiff opposition from some parties like BSP,SP,RJD,LJP and the Trinamool Congress.In fact,even the main opposition party,the BJP voted in favor of the bill.That must have come as a big sigh of relief to Sonia Gandhi,being a woman herself and the Chairperson of the most powerful political party,the Congress.

According to me, the bill should have been passed much earlier.This is because the top-most and powerful positions are held by women in our country.
Sonia Gandhi,Chairperson of the Congress,the backbone of the ruling alliance.
Pratibha Patil,Honorable President of India.
Meira Kumar,Honorable speaker in the Lok Sabha.
Sushma Swaraj,leader of the opposition in Parliament... to mention a few.

I'm dying to watch if this bill is going to be of any help to the people of India,especially some of the unrecognized and downtrodden women.Will this bill bring about empowerment of women or uplift the status of women in our male-dominated society?This question will not fetch an answer in the near future because the bill has to be passed in the Lower House and it requires the consent of the President.It definitely is going to take some valuable time,which we don't have much.

I personally believe that the passage of the bill will bring about change in India because 33% women in Parliament and state assemblies would mean there will be more women MPs and MLAs who would work for the country and for which 'Mother' India should be proud of.I'm not trying to offend the male counterparts here as they are equally competent. So my point here is that giving equal opportunity to women would prove fruitful for both the country and its people.

Disclaimer:The thoughts and views which I have mentioned above are completely mine and is not intended to hurt anyone.