New Delhi,Feb. 25: While a clear political consensus is still proving elusive, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Women’s Reservation Bill 2009, aimed at providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
A decision to this effect was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The bill had been introduced in the Rajya Sabha during the first UPA government and was referred to the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice and personnel departments.
The committee, which submitted its report in December last year, had recommended passage of the bill in its present form and suggested that further amendments or changes should not be left to the discretion of Parliament.
Confirming the Union Cabinet’s approval on Thursday, government sources said since the bill was the property of the House, the business advisory committee would decide on the next steps — such as when to hold the debate and vote on its passage.
The bill has been hanging fire for over a decade for lack of a political consensus, with certain parties such as the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal seeking a "quota within quota" for women belonging to the backward classes.
The bill had, however, found significant mention in the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Monday, in which President Pratibha Patil had said efforts would be made to get it passed in the current Budget Session itself.
Age Correspondent