Rajya Sabha passes Women's Reservation Bill

A historic bill granting 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was today passed by the Rajya Sabha after two days of high drama that saw suspension of seven members who violently disrupted proceedings.

The Rajya Sabha passed the historic Women's Bill by division with 186 votes in favour, one against and no abstentions.

The Women's Reservation Bill, pushed by the government despite the threat of withdrawal of support by Samajwadi Party and RJD, was passed by a two-third majority, a day after it was moved in the House for consideration but could not be taken up because of unruly scenes.

Amongst those who spoke were Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Arun Jaitley, Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) Brinda Karat, Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra and Jayanthi Natarajan of Congress.

Opening the debate was Jaitley, who said his party 'unequivocally' supported the women's bill but added that the privilege of supporting it had been diluted by 'some of the most shameful incidents in India's parliamentary history'.

Karat, a vocal supporter of the bill, said women's reservation in parliament and state legislatures would change the 'culture of the country because women today are still caught in a culture prison. In the name of tradition, stereotypes are imposed and we have to fight these every day'.

These stereotypes will also be broken by the bill, said Karat, who believes the entry of a larger number of women in legislatures would make for 'more sensitive politics'.

'The women's reservation bill will ensure that women of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, poor women and Muslim women would benefit from it,' Karat said, addressing concerns that the bill would benefit only some sections.

Congress leader and spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan also refuted critics demanding a special quota for Dalit women, saying Dalits and tribals would continue to get reservation under the bill.

Earlier, cracking the whip on disruptive MPs, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari suspended seven members for the remaining part of the Budget session for their unruly behaviour in the House yesterday over the Women's Reservation Bill. (Text: Agencies)

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/242/20100309/1337/tnl-rajya-sabha-passes-women-s-reservati.html