This morning through a newspaper, I came to know that cabinet is going to take up women reservation bill. I entered in upper house of parliament in 1996 and the very same year “women reservation bill” was drafted during Mr. Deve Gauda regime. In last 14 years, two UDF, two NDA and one UPA governments have come and gone but women reservation bill has not seen day’s light. This one and half decade of politics has witnessed that members who oppose the bill jumped into the well of the House and tore copies of the Bill by making impossible for proceedings to continue as a result the Bill is now in the dip freeze.

The women reservation bill has made a hue and cry by few political parties. To shine their political aspiration without any relevance these parties want to forego this bill by saying it’s discriminatory. They want to influence their party followers by dubbing this bill as anti-OBC and anti-Dalits just to get electoral gains without a scant regard for their well being in the society. Now women in India are quite conscious and already realized that how to apply their position in the country’s democratic set up. So, women should take note of this political maneuver by different parties and work out their constitutional standing to counter these divisive agenda. For this, women have to be affirmative in action to get that particular niche in the lawmaking body. In this country’s egalitarian set up women can force the political parties and their elected representatives to give due attention to this issue.

Although I am a keen supporter of “women reservation” but my association with the Samajwadi Party (SP) forced me to bury my enthusiasm on this issue. My previous mentor has engaged me against this bill for the last several years which I have been carrying out both in spoken and written words. Now my disassociation with the SP has liberated me and now I can express my opinion freely on this issue. My retrospection gives an opportunity to air my view is worth timing.

This is an occasion where parties cutting across political lines should support the move of women reservation bill in Parliament. The move will give the women in India a long-term transformational change in the law making body. It will reduce the gender imbalances in legislation process and will ensure women a platform to air their views in the democratic process of India. Increased political participation of women will help them fight the abuse, discrimination, and inequality they suffer from. This is a country where the President is a woman, Speaker is a woman, the president of the ruling party is a woman and leader of main opposition party is a woman, so, opposing the bill would be very ridiculous and it would not augur well for the people who are opposing it. For the smooth sailing of this bill I solicit the support of elected representatives of both Houses.

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