'Our Long-Standing Demand': Congress Steps In To Take Credit For Women's Reservation Bill

New Delhi: After the Women's Reservation Bill was cleared in a key Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Congress jumped in to claim credit saying, 'It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation'.

Taking to X, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, "We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Women Reservation 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."

Earlier, he chronicled the history behind the move stating that the Congress party has for the past nine years been demanding that the Women's Reservation Bill, already passed by the Rajya Sabha, should now get passed by the Lok Sabha as well.

The Women's Reservation Bill provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years. One-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be reserved for women candidates and the reserved seats will be rotated after each general election, the bill proposes. The bill also proposed sub-reservation for SCs, STs, and Anglo-Indians within the 33 per cent quota.