The ball was set rolling by leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley, before which the seven suspended members of the House had been evicted by marshals.
For a bill which looked like it was going to be dropped, the debate which followed went some way in restoring faith in democracy.
The majority in the Rajya Sabha, held to ransom by a tiny minority of disruptors the previous day, had its full say in support of the Women’s Reservation Bill on Tuesday, helping it to be cleared with only one naysayer.
The ball was set rolling by leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley, before which the seven suspended members of the House had been evicted by marshals.
“Today we see two histories in the making, one in clearing this progressive and historic legislation, which we unequivocally support, and the other in witnessing the most shameful incident in India’s parliamentary history,” said Jaitley.
Referring to the bill’s opponents, he said there was “a myth that reservations would create a privileged section”, adding that “nature has created us all as equals; the constitution also provided equality. However, aberrations in society translated some equals into unequals”.
Rattling out statistics illustrating the weaker position of women with regard to health, education and even in personal law, Jaitley said: “The argument that men can also ensure justice to women has been weakened. Under-representation and discrimination stare us in the face. The time has come for equal representation. The politics of tokenism must now evolve into a politics of ideas.
The politics of ideas must be accelerated by the politics of representation. It is on this rationale that I stand here to support the bill.”
He said those who had been suspended should be allowed to vote, if only to oppose the bill. “Let us not forget that this country once cleared the Constitution 42nd Amendment Bill, by putting (opponents) behind bars.
“You (suspended members) have the right to oppose the bill, but be democratic and appreciate the view of the majority as well.”
Speaking on behalf of the Congress, Jayanti Natarajan, who was also the chairman of the committee which gave the bill its final shape, said the bill was a commitment made by the Congress president and the party. “It is only the Congress party which could have created the conditions to clear this bill,” she said. Her remarks were not received too well by the opposition.
CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat, one of the most vocal supporters of the bill, commended both women’s organisations and liberal males who supported the bill in her speech.
The lone dissenting vote was by Swatantra Bharat Paksha’s Sharad Joshi, who said he was against reservations per se because they served no purpose.
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