Hyderabad: BRS MLC K Kavitha has welcomed the reported decision of the Union Cabinet approving the Women’s Reservation Bill but expressed apprehension on what the contents of the bill would be.
She expressed this apprehension noting that there is no official communication from the Union government and “everybody had to learn of this development through the media”.
Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel on Monday posted on social media platform X that the Cabinet has approved the women’s reservation bill, but deleted the post within an hour.
While there was no official word on what transpired in the Cabinet meeting, which lasted for more than 90 minutes on Monday evening, speculations were rife that it approved the women’s reservation bill.
Government sources had earlier indicated that the bill has been approved by the Cabinet and is likely to be tabled in Parliament.
“I am elated, I am very happy and I am on cloud nine dancing away but also worried a little bit,” Kavita said on Monday, welcoming the Cabinet’s reported decision, but was cautious as to what would be the format of the bill or will it be the same one passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2008 amid other doubts.
She highlighted that there is no clarity on when this bill will be introduced or a completely different bill will be introduced and what its statements and objectives would be.
Questioning the enigma around the bill, she noted that the Union government has started a trend of compelling everybody to know about developments of this importance only through news channels.
She reminded that the BRS had welcomed this bill way back in 2014 itself and her father and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently reiterated his stand that he will support the bill whenever it is introduced.
“As a proponent of this issue and as a woman myself, I would love to see more and more women coming into the Assemblies and the Parliament,” said Kavitha, adding that there is no need to specially say how hard women work and how they can raise sensitive issues of national importance in a very subtle way to enrich the country and the democracy of this nation.
However, she is only worried if the ruling BJP will take everybody’s consensus and make the women’s reservation bill pass through without a hiccup, highlighting cases such as the Triple Talaq Bill, Article 370 and others.
Though the BJP has complete majority in the Lok Sabha, the BRS MLC said this bill has been delayed for nine years, despite the saffron party mentioning it in its manifestos in 2014 and 2019.
She wished for the BJP’s majority to come in handy to pass this bill but flagged that nobody knows what is going to be in it yet.
“At least women should know. People of this country should know. So, in a democracy, transparency also matters. Your best of intentions will not be understood unless and until you are transparent and there is nothing to hide,” the MLC said.
She said the bill got lapsed last time because of the objections raised by the OBC community and wished that nothing like that should happen again while at the same time agreeing with the demands of the OBC community.
She stressed that every section of the society, including OBCs, SCs and STs should be taken along and all the issues discussed to avoid any last minute hiccups with the bill.
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