Former law ministers support women's reservation bill, question 'delay' of nine years

New Delhi : Several former Union law ministers supported the women's reservation bill introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, but some of them questioned the "delay" of nine years by the Modi government despite enjoying a majority in Parliament.

Veerappa Moily and Kapil Sibal, who were Union law ministers during the UPA rule, attacked the BJP for not supporting the Congress earlier for passage of the bill. Ramakant Khalap and Ashwani Kumar said it was a long-due move to address the aspiration of the people of India that women get proper representation in legislatures. The bill is aimed at expanding women's participation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country.

Senior Congress leader Moily told PTI that introducing the Bill when the elections are approaching is "absolutely political" and the government does not have a legitimate interest in women as a class. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said if it was not a "political move" and was really for the empowerment of women, the Centre should have moved it in 2014 when the BJP-led government came to power.

The introduction and imminent passage of the women's reservation bill is a transformative moment in the nation's history, Ashwani Kumar, who was a law minister under the UPA rule, said. "Women's reservation in legislatures will empower women and strengthen the nation's democratic edifice. The transformative law will address historical injustices and give voice to the aspirations of half of our population," he said.

Kumar said Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh can justly claim credit for initiating the move. "The welcome national consensus on the move demonstrates our capacity to rise above partisan politics in aid of overarching national goals.

This should be the beginning of a cooperative and collaborative political endeavour towards national renewal," he said. Khalap said way back in 1996-97 when he was the Union law minister in the cabinet led by then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, he had the privilege of moving the Bill to provide one-third reservation to women. Khalap, who was then in the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and is now in the Congress, said this bill has been hanging fire since 1996-97 and women in the country deserve just representation in a representative government.

"The system prevailing in the country is heavily oriented towards the males and therefore, even though we do have brilliant women, very few of them were able to get representation," Khalap told PTI. While welcoming the bill, Moily questioned the real intention of the government. "You know when the election is approaching, introducing it at this moment is absolutely political and they do not have a legitimate interest in the women as a class.

They are only interested in gaining politically. I think there is no question of loss or gain but it is a question of social justice for the 50 per cent of the population," Moily said. He said the bill has to be implemented because the Congress party has total commitment that reservation both in Parliament and state assemblies has to be provided to women.

Observing that the bill should be passed and implemented, Sibal said, "The BJP could have supported us in 2008 and get the women's reservation bill passed. They never supported us then." "Why did he wait till 2023 to talk of the women's reservation bill? Because he suddenly realises that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are coming. And therefore, he wants the women to support him and therefore, he is selling this dream that by 2029, I will give you representation in Lok Sabha," Sibal said referring to the prime minister.

He said the government is saying the bill is for the empowerment of women, but they want to "empower themselves through this". Asked about Congress' parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi's statement that the bill "is ours", Sibal said, "I think if we are generally concerned about the empowerment of women, the credit should go to everybody whoever passes the Bill.

But certainly the idea was of the Congress party". He said it was the Congress party that spoke of reservation in panchayats and in municipalities. Responding to a query, Moily said Sonia Gandhi has a "legitimate claim" as the UPA government had introduced the Bill in the Rajya Sabha and got it passed in 2010 at her instance.

"At the instance of Sonia Gandhi ji, we enhanced it from 33 per cent to 50 per cent in 'Zila Panchayat', 'Panchayat' and municipalities and the credit goes to her and I don't think Narendra Modi can take away that credit from Sonia Gandhi," he said. Khalap said whoever may be in power today, naturally, the dispensation which moved this Bill gets the credit for it. "So in that sense, the NDA government headed by Narendra Modi who is moving this Bill will certainly say that they are entitled to whatever credit that accrues out of such a people-oriented bill," he said.

"Almost 50 per cent of our population is female and... the voice of the women will really be heard across the length and breadth of this country," Khalap said. Sibal said in 2014, there was no impediment in the way of the BJP to get the bill passed and then have it implemented by 2024. Moily said after the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010, the then UPA government could not get cooperation from the BJP in getting it passed from Lok Sabha also.

"They were not that willing even though we called them for a meeting to gather the momentum of consensus. We could not obtain the consensus and that is why we could not get it passed in Lok Sabha. We did not introduce the Bill in Lok Sabha," he said.

Moily said the long time taken by the NDA government to introduce the Bill in Parliament showed a "lack of willingness" on their part. With this last-minute move, "they think they can seek some political advantage but it is not some political advantage, it has a social aspect and social justice has to be given to 50 per cent of the population in this country", the Congress leader said.