Chhattisgarh Pushes for Women's Reservation Amid Assembly Debate

Raipur, Apr 30 (PTI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai tabled a resolution on Thursday in the state assembly for the immediate implementation of one-third reservation for women in Parliament and all state legislative assemblies following the completion of the delimitation process.

A one-day special session of the Chhattisgarh assembly was held to discuss the resolution after the Constitution Amendment Bill aiming to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women was defeated in the Lok Sabha.

The bill, proposing the reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats, failed on April 17 as it received 298 votes in support against 230 votes in opposition, falling short of the required 352-vote majority out of the 528 members participating.

The bill intended to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to enable the women's reservation law by the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise anchored on the 2011 Census data.

During the assembly session, CM Sai asserted that ensuring one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was essential for their dignity, development, and empowerment, which should follow the delimitation exercise without delay.

Speaker Raman Singh allocated four hours for discussion on the resolution.

However, Opposition Leader Charan Das Mahant highlighted his submission of a similar resolution urging the Centre to provide the 33 per cent reservation for women within the existing legislative strength promptly, which was not considered.

The Speaker explained that Mahant's proposal was a non-official resolution, inadmissible due to the pre-decided agenda of the special session.

Mahant contested that the Chief Minister's statements made outside about introducing a censure motion against Congress misleading the subject of the resolution.

Senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar argued decisions on parliamentary discussions fall within the House's jurisdiction, stressing that statements made externally are not debatable within the House.

This sparked a verbal exchange between Congress and BJP members in the assembly.

The Speaker intervened, allocating adequate time for all members to voice their views and encouraged constructive participation in the debate.

Interestingly, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a resolution to implement a 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies post-delimitation, occurring in the absence of main Opposition Congress MLAs who staged a walkout.