Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha: TMC MP Derek O’Brien submits notice for introduction

Derek O’Brien,

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has urged Union government to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing budget session of Parliament.

TMC’s floor leader in the Upper House Derek O'Brien said on April 4 that he has submitted a notice under Rule 168 in the House for the introduction of the long-pending Bill.

Rule 168 allows members to raise issues of public interest. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women.

Also Read | Women's Reservation Bill | What is the debate around it?

“Open dare to 56 inch of PMO government. Introduce the long pending Women Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha this week (before April 8). Accept and put to vote motion under Rule 168,” O'Brien said in a tweet sharing a chart showing TMC, among all major political parties, having the maximum percentage (37 %) of women MPs.

OPEN DARE to 56 inch @PMOindia government.

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Introduce the long pending WOMEN’s RESERVATION BILL in #Parliament Rajya Sabha this week (before April 8). Accept and put to vote @AITCofficial motion under Rule 168. @mamataofficial walks the talk.
Mr Modi come follow the leader pic.twitter.com/dNt4HyuMZr

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) April 4, 2022

The budget session is in its last week and is scheduled to be adjourned on April 8.

TMC’s push for the Women’s Reservation Bill is seen as a political move by the party, which is led by country's lone woman chief minister Mamata Banerjee and has highest percentage of Women MPs in the Parliament.

“My government recognizes the important role our women play in the development of our society and growth of the nation. It is committed to providing 33 per cent reservation to them in Parliament and state legislative assemblies,” O'Brien told Hindustan Times last week.

Also Read | Was TMC talking about Bengal while raising concerns over freedom of speech: PM Narendra Modi taunts Derek O’Brien

The notice by the TMC leader says India has slipped 28 places to rank 140th among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 primarily “on account of the significant decline in the share of women among ministers, which halved, from 23 percent in 2019 to 9.1 percent in 2021."

The current Lok Sabha has 15 percent women MPs while the Rajya Sabha has 12.2 per cent women MPs.

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The Women’s Reservation Bill, first introduced in Parliament in 1996, came closest to passage in 2008 when the Rajya Sabha cleared the legislation but it was not taken up in the Lok Sabha amid a lack of consensus among the then UPA allies.