INDIA bloc to meet ahead of discussion on Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha

Ahead of the discussion on the Womens Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha on the third day of the ongoing Parliament special session floor leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA will hold a meeting to chalk out the strategy for the floor of the houseThe meeting will be held at the office of Rajya Sabha leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament ANI reported The fiveday special session of the Parliament began on Monday and will end on FridayThe Lok Sabha is set to discuss the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam Bill which was tabled by Centre for discussion at 11 am today after the proceedings of the House start The 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill 2023 seeks to reserve 33 per cent seats in Lok Sabha and all state Assemblies for womenQuoting sources ANI reported the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to be the lead speaker from her party for the debate as the Lok Sabha takes up the Womens Quota Bill for discussionThe Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on MondayOn Tuesday Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building The bill has been named Nari Shakti Vandan AdhiniyamIn 2008 the Manmohan Singhled UPA government tabled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha and it was passed in 2010 However the Bill was never taken up for consideration in the Lok SabhaAlso read Congress committed to womens reservation need to address potential shortcomings in the proposed legislation KhargeSpeaking to ANI Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reminisced about past efforts stating In 2010 we had passed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha But it failed to be passed by the Lok Sabha That is why this is not a new Bill Had they taken that Bill forward it would have been done quickly by this dayKharge expressed skepticism about the timing and intentions behind recent discussions on the Womens Reservation Bill suggesting that political motives might be at play He remarked I feel that they are publicizing this in view of elections but actually unless the delimitation or census takes place you can feel how long it is going to take They could have continued with the earlier one but their intentions are something elseDespite his reservations Kharge reiterated the Congresss commitment to the cause of womens reservation and emphasized the need to address the potential shortcomings in the proposed legislation He affirmed But we will insist that womens reservation has to be brought and we will fully cooperate But the loopholes and drawbacks should be rectifiedThe Womens Reservation Bill which seeks to reserve onethird of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women has been a topic of discussion and debate in Indian politics for many years Its passage has been hindered by various challenges and political considerations Agencies