While the Rajya Sabha had exactly six years ago passed the Women's Reservation Bill, the legislation has since been pending in Lok Sabha.
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a challenge, Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday, adding he has requested his party to allow him to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from his home state Odisha.
The Bill also seeks to extend nomination of Anglo-Indian communities to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies by another 10 years. The Constitution (109th Amendment) Bill 2009 moved by Law Minister M Veerappa Moily seeks to extend the reservation beyond January 25, 2010 when the time period of 60 years under Article 334 of the Constitution lapses.
The government may table the two key Bills on women's reservation and food security soon in Parliament to take the wind out of the Opposition sails.The Women's Reservation Bill, aimed at providing one-third reservation to women candidates in state Assemblies and Parliament, is bound to split the Opposition. The Food Security Bill, which will provide 25 kg of rice or wheat at Rs 3 per month to families below the poverty line, will be showcased as the government's effort.
The Congress on Wednesday sought to give credit to president Sonia Gandhi for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. "We thank the media for acknowledging the personal stamp of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the passage of the Bill," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi. The party also expressed its gratitude to the opposition parties which helped in getting the Bill passed. Tewari said the bill was historic.
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on the Tamil Nadu government's plea alleging delay by Governor R N Ravi in granting assent to bills passed by the state assembly to December 1.
'Upper castes who complain against reservations are fighting only for their own castes.'
The matter would be heard by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
The monsoon session of Parliament which saw many disruptions since it began on July 20 over the Manipur violence issue, is set to become more turbulent with the government likely to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the Delhi services ordinance.
Opposition BJP and the Left have unequivocally supported the Women's Reservation Bill describing it as "the most progressive", but slammed the government for mishandling the process of "historic" amendment to the Constitution.
After 13 years in hibernation, the prospects of passage of the controversial women's reservation bill brightened with sharp divisions coming to the fore among one of the main the opponents of the measure--JD(Uas Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared his support.
Six bills, including the one to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid protests by opposition members over the violence in Manipur.
Moily said there would be no change in the bill compared to that passed in the Rajya Sabha and exuded confidence that it would get through the Lok Sabha also in April.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh has said his party will withdraw support to the Women's Reservation Bill during its passage in the Lok Sabha if the government tried 'backdoor' reservation for minorities in the measure. "The BJP is clear that the strength of the Bill is its non-communal nature. This country was once divided on the basis of religion. The BJP will not support the Bill if the government tries backdoor representation for Muslims," he said.
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After his threat of withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and apprised her of his party's stand on the issue of the Women's Reservation Bill. Yadav, whose party, along with the Samajwadi Party, are strongly opposing the bill in its present form, told Patil that his party is not against the reservation for women.
Slamming the women's reservation bill as a "dangerous" one, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged on Sunday that it was a conspiracy to prevent Muslims, backwards and Dalits from entering Parliament and state assemblies.
Will the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi be finally successful in pushing through the Women's Reservation Bill that provides 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies? The government wants to have the bill listed in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing on March 8, aiming to make a statement on the International Women's Day. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called the presidents of the state mahila units of her party.
The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court claiming that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was delaying giving his assent to bills passed by the state assembly, which was "defeating the rights of the people".
Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh.
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Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Finance Bill 2023 with 64 official amendments, including the one that seeks withdrawal of long-term tax benefits on certain categories of debt mutual funds and another for setting up the GST Appelate Tribunal. The Finance Bill that gives effect to tax proposals for fiscal year starting April 1 was passed without a discussion amidst ruckus by opposition members demanding a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) probe into the allegations against the Adani group of companies. While moving the bill for passage and consideration, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced the setting up of a committee under finance secretary to look into pension issues of government employees.
Amid demands for getting the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill passed, the government on Wednesday said it is ready to extend the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha if the House agreed.
The government on Thursday listed bills on personal data protection, to amend forest conservation laws and on the contentious ordinance on Delhi services for the monsoon session of Parliament beginning next week.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday defended her party's decision to abstain from voting on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but said she was in favour of the constitutional amendment.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold talks with the opponents of Women's Reservation Bill before the government's takes the next step on it, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appealed to the opposition for the unanimous passage of the women's reservation bill and said shortcomings, if any, can be rectified at a later date.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has sparked controversy by asking students at a government-aided college in Madurai to chant "Jai Shri Ram". The State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) has demanded his removal, alleging that he violated his oath of office and secular principles. The group claims Ravi's actions were against the Constitution, which outlines India as a secular country and emphasizes the importance of upholding secular values in education. The incident follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that overruled Ravi's decision to withhold 10 Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu government, highlighting ongoing tensions between the Governor and the state administration.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote.
Differences cropped up among Bharatiya Janata Party MPs on the issue of providing reservation in promotion for SC and ST government employees a day after a bill in this regard was passed by the Rajya Sabha.
"We have given time to the Haryana government to bring and pass the Jat reservation Bill by March 31 (when the ongoing Budget session ends)," Malik told media persons.
This was announced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi shortly before the conclusion of the winter session of Parliament during which the government had promised to bring the Constitution amendment Bill.
Kharge claimed that the Centre accepted "intelligence failure" in an all-party meeting and said it should be held accountable for "not reinforcing" security arrangements in Kashmir to protect people.
Greenpeace has also launched a petition addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which the organisation claims has been signed by over 21,000 people.
The much-delayed Women's Reservation Bill may not come up in the Budget session of Parliament as it has to be scrutinised by a new Parliamentary panel. A Union minister, who declined to be identified, said work needed to be done on the Bill which was before the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
"The prime minister is likely to convene an all-party meeting (to evolve consensus). We are taking all efforts to bring the bill in the Lok Sabha in the winter session of Parliament," the minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs told reporters in Chennai.
Reservations for women will not dramatically and automatically redeem systematic, pervasive discrimination reservations but it will play a key role in bringing women's concerns to bear on public debate and official policies.
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