Parliament passes Bills to extend women’s reservation at Puducherry, J&K Assemblies
NEW DELHI: With a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, the Parliament on Monday passed two Bills that would expand the women’s reservation law’s provisions to the legislative Assemblies of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill were passed amid a din as Opposition members demanding that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement in the House on the December 13 Parliament security breach trooped into the well and raised slogans.
The Bills were passed by the Lok Sabha on December 12.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments in the morning session. As the House reassembled at 2 pm, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai tabled the two Bills for consideration and passage.
He said the Bills are in favour of women’s rights.
Members of the Treasury benches and some other parties spoke in favour of the Bills, asserting that they seek to provide reservation to women in Assemblies of Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill stipulates that nearly one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election to the Legislative Assembly of the union territory of Puducherry (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes) shall be reserved for women in such manner as the Parliament may by law determine.
The J&K Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill stipulates that seats shall be reserved for women in the legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
It states that as nearly as may be, “one-third of the seats reserved under Sub-Section (7) of Section 14 (of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019) shall be reserved for women belonging to the SCs or the STs in the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
These provisions shall be inserted in the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.