Kamal Haasan said that if we are serious about women’s empowerment, 33% reservation must be implemented immediately.
Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiyam (MNM) President Kamal Haasan has a special request for the Union Government. The actor expressed concern about women empowerment and urged the Union Government to convene another special session of the Parliament to implement a 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies immediately.
He began, “After the historic fall of delimitation-linked 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill, my colleague @PWilsonDMK has introduced a Private Member’s Bill to implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, without linking it to delimitation. The Bill also proposes extending the freeze on delimitation till 2051, giving states time to achieve population stabilisation which can be achieved by our North Indian states through genuine women empowerment i.e. providing access to quality education, quality healthcare, and equal employment opportunities for women.”
“I urge the Union Government to convene another special session of the Parliament after the Assembly elections and pass this Bill, or introduce an equivalent government legislation without delay,” he concluded.
The proposed Bill seeks to introduce 33% reservation within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats and extend similar provisions to State Assemblies, Delhi, and Union Territories, including Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir. Wilson stressed that the reservation should be permanent and not contingent on future exercises.
In a major setback for the Union Government, the Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak the Women’s Reservation Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha after the government failed to get a special majority in the Parliament on Friday evening. While 298 members voted in favour of the government backing the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 230 members from the opposition voted against the proposed law.
