On the Bill that the Rajya Sabha passed....
The passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill providing for reservation of constituencies for women in the Lok Sabha and State assemblies in the Rajya Sabha is indeed a milestone. However, it is too early to celebrate. For the Bill has to be moved in the Lok Sabha, where the opposition to the idea could be louder given their numbers and also the fact that we will have such men like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav conducting the battle by themselves in the Lower House.
But then, it is unlikely that the process can be stalled for long given the push it has received now. The momentum must be maintained and it is important that the Congress, the BJP and the Left parties refrain from claiming credit to the achievement and reduce the entire exercise to being a party affair. It is not. It is important also because the Bill will have to be sailed through in at least 14 state assemblies. As it is, this must not be difficult. With the three national parties in favour as of now, it should sail through so well in the state assemblies in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.
It should also be endorsed by the assemblies in Tamil Nadu (where we may see the DMK and the AIADMK voting together!) and Orissa where the Congress and the BJD will vote on the same side. It should sail through in Punjab too with the Akali Dal and the Congress voting the same way. In Andhra Pradesh too, the Bill must find safe passage though we do not know what the TDP stands for as such. The point is that more than half the number of States will approve of the constitutional amendment and this is for sure.
But then, the Bill is unlikely to be approved in Uttar Pradesh; with both the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party against it, the supporters of the Bill – the Congress and the BJP – will be far outnumbered. The Congress and the BJP do not add up to even one fourth of the Uttar Pradesh assembly! In Bihar too, notwithstanding Nitish Kumar’s position in its favour, the Bill is most likely to be defeated in the assembly. These, however, do not matter because it is necessary for only 14 state assemblies to endorse the Bill to be made as part of the constitution.
The procedure will take at least several months. And in any case, it will not happen before May 2011, when elections to the Tamil Nadu state assembly will be held. It may happen, if all those in favour of the change keep the momentum, that the Constitution will stand amended before May 2014 and in time for the next general elections.
Let me reiterate that it is only in the realm of possibilities and nothing is certain about that. Let us remember, at this stage, that the Right to Education, to all those under 14 years of age, as a fundamental right is yet to be realised even while the Constitution stood amended with Article 21-A inserted as early as on December 12, 2002 by way of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act.
There is, however, a positive aspect to this long time that is likely to pass before the realisation of the 33 percent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State assemblies. Parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the RJD can afford to use this time to build a strong and powerful womens’ wing in their parties and thus ensure that the gains achieved by way of long struggles by the Other Backward Classes are not diluted or usurped by the Upper Caste conspirators by way of reservation for women.
Well. There is a point in their argument: That the proportion of empowered women is larger among those belonging to the Upper Castes because they have had a better access to education, employment and such other means of empowerment. And hence it is likely that when the contest in a Lok Sabha constituency is restricted to women candidates only, it is likely that most candidates may belong to the Upper Castes and hence the parties that have risen raising the aspirations of the OBCs will end up in the margins. But then, these parties must now realise that none can prevent them from raising the status of women in their own fold and that such a programme must be integral to the concept of social justice.
Having said all these, let me add a caveat. In the larger context of ``undemocratisation’’ of the political discourse where elections are fought with tonnes of money and where new entrants into the system are either the sons or the daughters of leaders, this amendment to the constitution will hardly make any difference.
The choice before the people, as of now, is between Rahul and Priyanka; Stalin and Kanomozhi; Priya Dutt and Sanjay Dutt; well the list can go on.
Well. I do not think that reinventing the democratic space can be achieved by way of another constitution amendment. It calls for a movement of the people.
The passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill providing for reservation of constituencies for women in the Lok Sabha and State assemblies in the Rajya Sabha is indeed a milestone. However, it is too early to celebrate. For the Bill has to be moved in the Lok Sabha, where the opposition to the idea could be louder given their numbers and also the fact that we will have such men like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav conducting the battle by themselves in the Lower House.
But then, it is unlikely that the process can be stalled for long given the push it has received now. The momentum must be maintained and it is important that the Congress, the BJP and the Left parties refrain from claiming credit to the achievement and reduce the entire exercise to being a party affair. It is not. It is important also because the Bill will have to be sailed through in at least 14 state assemblies. As it is, this must not be difficult. With the three national parties in favour as of now, it should sail through so well in the state assemblies in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.
It should also be endorsed by the assemblies in Tamil Nadu (where we may see the DMK and the AIADMK voting together!) and Orissa where the Congress and the BJD will vote on the same side. It should sail through in Punjab too with the Akali Dal and the Congress voting the same way. In Andhra Pradesh too, the Bill must find safe passage though we do not know what the TDP stands for as such. The point is that more than half the number of States will approve of the constitutional amendment and this is for sure.
But then, the Bill is unlikely to be approved in Uttar Pradesh; with both the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party against it, the supporters of the Bill – the Congress and the BJP – will be far outnumbered. The Congress and the BJP do not add up to even one fourth of the Uttar Pradesh assembly! In Bihar too, notwithstanding Nitish Kumar’s position in its favour, the Bill is most likely to be defeated in the assembly. These, however, do not matter because it is necessary for only 14 state assemblies to endorse the Bill to be made as part of the constitution.
The procedure will take at least several months. And in any case, it will not happen before May 2011, when elections to the Tamil Nadu state assembly will be held. It may happen, if all those in favour of the change keep the momentum, that the Constitution will stand amended before May 2014 and in time for the next general elections.
Let me reiterate that it is only in the realm of possibilities and nothing is certain about that. Let us remember, at this stage, that the Right to Education, to all those under 14 years of age, as a fundamental right is yet to be realised even while the Constitution stood amended with Article 21-A inserted as early as on December 12, 2002 by way of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act.
There is, however, a positive aspect to this long time that is likely to pass before the realisation of the 33 percent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State assemblies. Parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the RJD can afford to use this time to build a strong and powerful womens’ wing in their parties and thus ensure that the gains achieved by way of long struggles by the Other Backward Classes are not diluted or usurped by the Upper Caste conspirators by way of reservation for women.
Well. There is a point in their argument: That the proportion of empowered women is larger among those belonging to the Upper Castes because they have had a better access to education, employment and such other means of empowerment. And hence it is likely that when the contest in a Lok Sabha constituency is restricted to women candidates only, it is likely that most candidates may belong to the Upper Castes and hence the parties that have risen raising the aspirations of the OBCs will end up in the margins. But then, these parties must now realise that none can prevent them from raising the status of women in their own fold and that such a programme must be integral to the concept of social justice.
Having said all these, let me add a caveat. In the larger context of ``undemocratisation’’ of the political discourse where elections are fought with tonnes of money and where new entrants into the system are either the sons or the daughters of leaders, this amendment to the constitution will hardly make any difference.
The choice before the people, as of now, is between Rahul and Priyanka; Stalin and Kanomozhi; Priya Dutt and Sanjay Dutt; well the list can go on.
Well. I do not think that reinventing the democratic space can be achieved by way of another constitution amendment. It calls for a movement of the people.
posted by Krishna Ananth at
2:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home