The bill, which seeks to reserve 33% of legislative seats for women, will now have to be cleared by the Lok Sabha and at least half the state assemblies to become law.
Fourteen years and several half-hearted attempts later, a Sonia Gandhi-powered Congress party succeeded in ramming the Women’s Reservation Bill through the Rajya Sabha (RS) on Tuesday. History was made when the House voted 186-1 in favour of the bill; women activists celebrated with whoops of joy everywhere.
The bill, which seeks to reserve 33% of legislative seats for women, will now have to be cleared by the Lok Sabha and at least half the state assemblies to become law.
After Monday’s fiasco, when MPs from the Yadav brigade of Mulayam and Lalu managed to prevent the bill’s introduction in the upper house, the Congress redeemed its reputation after Sonia sent word to the party’s managers that it must be passed at any cost. Seven Samajwadi, RJD and Janata Dal (U) members were physically evicted from the RS when they obstructed the debate on the bill. In the process, the Congress also alienated an ally, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, who didn’t want to be seen on the same side as the Left in backing the bill.
The final vote showed 186 votes in favour of the bill and one against in a 245-member house with an effective strength of 233. Two MPs of the Trinamool Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party abstained from voting.
If the Sonia push got the women’s bill over the hump, there will now be a lull as the Congress prepares to soothe ruffled feathers and rebuilds ties with allies. The government is in no hurry to bring the bill before the Lok Sabha as its priority now is to ensure a smooth passage for the finance bill (budget). Given the statutory requirement that the bill be voted on before March 31, the
Congress is trying to ensure that there are no hiccups after all the bitterness generated over the women’s quota bill.
Sonia Gandhi made it clear that she would like passions to cool down before the women’s bill is brought before the Lok Sabha. During her brief interaction with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Lok Sabha, she said the government was prepared to consider their demands for a quota (for OBCs) within the women’s quota once the bill was passed.
But mollifying the Yadavs will not be easy. Lalu Prasad said he would hand over to the president on Wednesday a letter withdrawing support to the UPA government. The SP chief, while claiming that he had withdrawn support, did not say in certain terms when he would hand over a letter to the effect to the president. The UPA’s political managers have indicated that efforts would be made to mollify both the leaders.
Earlier in the day, there was high drama in the upper house as members of both the parties and that of Janata Dal (U) started from where they had left off on Monday. They went into aggressive action soon after the house met. Seven members, who had to be suspended for their unruly behaviour, were physically evicted from the house after they continued to squat on the floor for more than three hours. It took nearly 50 marshals to carry them off.
It was a calculated risk for the Congress. According to the party’s calculations, despite the defeat on the women’s bill, the SP and RJD will not vote against the finance bill to bring the government down simply because nobody wants an election at this stage. “Not one Lok Sabha MP wants a mid-term election right now,” said a senior Congress minister.
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