Women's Reservation Bill approved by Union Cabinet: Sources

Sources said that the Union Cabinet on Monday approved the Women's Reservation Bill. It was also confirmed by Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel, but he later deleted the post. This comes after the Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went on for over 90 minutes after the first sitting of the 5-day special session of Parliament.

The Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti, had written on X (formerly known as Twitter), "Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations Narendra Modi ji and congratulations to the Modi government."    

"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations PM Narendra Modi and congratulations to the PM Modi government," tweets Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel pic.twitter.com/y4yqSQturn

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023

Cutting across political lines, leaders have demanded the introduction of the Women Reservation Bill, which guarantees a 33 per cent quota in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The Women's Reservation Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 had provision for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Earlier addressing the media, the Prime Minister said that "historic decisions" will be taken this Parliament session which may be of short duration but is big on occasion.

Union Cabinet clears women's reservation bill, says Union minister Prahlad Patel

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 18, 2023

The cabinet meeting was attended by Union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari and Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Ever since it was announced that the Parliament session would be held from September 18-22, there has been speculation on various bills, including the Women's Reservation Bill.

Congress welcomes reported move that govt may introduce Women's Reservation Bill

Amid reports that the Women's Reservation Bill may be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Congress said it welcomes the reported move as the party has been raising the demand for long.

Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh welcomed the "reported decision" of the Union Cabinet. "We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

"It's been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women's reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy," he added.

If the government introduces the Women's Reservation Bill tomorrow, it will be a victory for the Congress and its allies in the UPA government

Remember, it was during the UPA government that the Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on 9-3-2010

In its 10th year, the BJP is…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 18, 2023

(With Agency Inpus)