Women Reservation Bill

The census would set the stage for the delimitation exercise and introduction of the Women Reservation Act

The Rajasthan Cabinet on Wednesday approved 33 per cent reservation to women in the police force and five per cent additional allowance to pensioners. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, also approved a proposal to allot land for a 3,150 MW solar power project. Deputy Chief Minister Dr Prem Chand Bairwa said an amendment to the Rajasthan Police Subordinate Services Rules, 1989, was approved in the cabinet meeting, paving the way for the one-third quota for women in police. A notification will be issued soon by the Personnel department in this regard, he added. Dr Bairwa said the cabinet has also taken measures in connection with beneficiaries of pensions for retiring state government employees. If there is no other eligible member, then the names of specially-abled (vishesh yogya) children, dependent parents, and specially-abled siblings can now be permanently added to the Pension Payment Order, he said. For this, approval has been given to amend Rules 67 and

As Haryana gears up for elections on 25th May, women's issues, the treatment of the women wrestlers and farmer protests weigh heavily on the minds of the voter

When the historic "Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam" was passed in Parliament last year, jubilant women politicians, cutting across parties, broke into celebration distributing sweets and exuding confidence that it would enable them to get a fairer deal in the upcoming elections. Celebrations over the passage of the landmark Bill were no less in Kerala, where over 1.40 crore voters are women and 50 per cent seats are reserved for them in local bodies. Although the Women's Reservation Bill would be implemented only after 2029 Lok Sabha polls, female politicians widely expected that they would get a remarkable representation in the candidates' list of the general elections. On the contrary, they continued to get a raw deal in the southern state from the parties that had waxed eloquent about the passage of the historic Bill. While the major fronts, the CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF, have given three and one seat respectively to women, the BJP-led NDA has set aside five seats for the

The Congress will reserve 50 per cent of government jobs for women if it is voted to power, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on Friday, asserting that powerful women will change the destiny of India. Gandhi asked why even today only one in three women is employed and why is there only one woman in 10 government jobs. "Isn't the population of women in India 50%? Is the presence of women in higher secondary and higher education not 50%? If so, then why is their share in the system so less?" the former Congress chief said. "Congress wants - 'Aadhi Abaadi Poora Haq', we understand that women's potential will be fully utilized only when women have equal contribution in the government running the country," he said in a post in Hindi on X. Therefore, the Congress has decided that half the recruitment in all new government jobs should be reserved for women, he said. "We are also in favour of immediate implementation of women's reservation in Parliament and in assemblies," Gandhi ...

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the discourse surrounding women's issues has garnered renewed attention with the slogan of 'Nari Shakti' but several activists are apprehensive that the core concerns of women may again get subdued in the broader economic and political debates. There is a need for political parties to prioritise gender-sensitive policies, not merely as token gestures but as integral components of their core agendas, Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India (PFI) said, criticising the "marginalisation" of women's issues within the broader electoral discourse. "To truly empower women and address their unique concerns, it is imperative that political parties and leaders integrate gender-sensitive policies into their core agendas and manifestoes as a priority. "This includes not only increasing women's representation in political spaces but also ensuring that their voices are heard and acted upon in decision-making processes," she ..

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said no one can stop women from reaching the state assemblies and Parliament now. He said this while discussing the Nari Shakti Vandan Act during an address after launching the "Shakti Vandan Abhiyan" organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here. "The Nari Shakti Vandan Act (Women's Reservation Act) will be implemented across the state," Adityanath said. Under the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, there is a provision for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Adityanath said "after this Act, no political party can stop women from reaching the legislative assemblies and Parliament". According to an official statement, the chief guest of the programme was BJP's national secretary Vijaya Rahatkar. On the Ram temple's consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, Adityanath said it has been achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a long battle of 500

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond within two weeks to a plea by a Congress leader seeking immediate implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act-2023 so that one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be reserved for women before the general elections due this year. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta allowed the Centre time after its advocate Kanu Agrawal said the government needs some time to file a comprehensive reply. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner Jaya Thakur, said the court should issue a direction to ensure that the law can be implemented before the general elections. Justice Khanna said the court cannot pass a direction and this stage and asked Singh to wait for the Centre's reply. When advocate Prashant Bhushan said he wanted to file a petition on the issue, the bench told him his plea, being a fresh matter, can only be assigned to a bench by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. It posted the mat

The Opposition bloc taking shape after a Congress push, BJP's sweep in the Hindi heartland, and suspension of MPs protesting over Parliament security breach set the stage for an intense 2024 showdown

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the House by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai

There is a rise in the number of women elected to the five state legislatures in 2023 compared to 2018, except in Rajasthan

Twenty of the 50 women candidates emerged victorious in Rajasthan on Sunday, with their strength in the House marginally going down as compared to the outgoing assembly. Of the winning women candidates, nine each were from the BJP and the Congress and two were Independents. There were a total of 50 women candidates in the fray this time, 20 fielded by the BJP, 28 by the Congress and two Independents. The nine winning Congress candidates were Shimla Devi (Anupugarh), Sushila Dudi (Nokha), Rita Chaudhary (Mandawa), Shika Meel Barala (Chomu), Shobharani Kushwah (Dholpur), Anita Jatav (Hindaun), Indra (Bamanwas), Geeta Barwar (Bhopalgarh), and Ramila Khadia (Kushalgarh). The BJP's women candidates who emerged victorious were Diya Kumari (Vidhyadhar Nagar), Anita Bhadel (Ajmer South), Manju Baghmar (Jayal), Shobha Chauhan (Sojat), Deepti Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand), Kalpna Devi (Ladpura), Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), Siddhi Kumari (Bikaner East), Nauksham Chaudhary (Kaman). Ritu Ban

Even if they win in a contest, it is not certain that political parties will field them again

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the opposition INDIA alliance's goal is early implementation of the women's reservation bill recently passed by the Parliament and asserted the bloc would fight for it. Reiterating his unity pitch to dislodge the BJP regime at the Centre, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin accused the Saffron party of "conspiracy" while batting for internal reservation for OBCs and minorities in the reservation for women in legislative bodies. "The INDIA bloc is not merely an electoral alliance but an ideological alliance," he said at the Women's Rights Conference organised by the ruling DMK here on Saturday. The event saw the participation of key women INDIA leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mehbooba Mufti and Supriya Sule. Stalin said the BJP can be defeated only through unity and Tamil Nadu has shown the way since the 2019 LS election. "A united alliance, like the one in Tamil Nadu, should be formed in every state

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday asserted the INDIA alliance would fight for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill passed recently by the Parliament. Addressing the ruling DMK's Women's rights conference here, she said the late Rajiv Gandhi brought the historic 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati raj, the local self-governments which spurred an entirely new phenomenon of women leadership at the grassroots level. It was a vital stepping stone towards the reservation on a similar one thirds of seats in the legislative bodies which the Congress pioneered in Parliament and outside. Now the Women's Reservation Bill has finally been passed due to "our relentless persistence and efforts; of all of us, not just the Congress." However, "as we all know it is still a long way to come." She recalled the interventions made in the Parliament by opposition MPs on the actual implementation of the Bill, whether it would be in one year, two or three years.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said the BJP-led Union government was treating women as a "joke" as the newly enacted legislation which reserves seats for them in legislatures can not be implemented for ten years. Speaking at a rally at Mohankheda in Dhar district of poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, she asked why the government brought in the bill at this stage if the quota could not be put into effect immediately. The BJP-led Union government brought in the women's reservation bill.... all of us Opposition parties also supported it.Then we learnt that it will not be implemented for ten years, before that the census will be conducted. Then what was the point of this announcement?.....You are treating women as a joke," Gandhi said. The government will have to carry out the delimitation exercise before implementing the new Act (which reserves 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures), and this will take ten years, the Congress leader .

Political parties and jaatis are re-evaluating caste politics in the wake of a generational shift in leadership

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Lashing out at BJP, SP supremo said, the intentions of BJP are never clear and they are spreading false propaganda about reservation

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