Screengrab from the official channel of Sansad TV/ Youtube
Around 13 women MPs sat along with the Rajya Sabha chairman to oversee the house proceedings on Thursday, apart from the current panel of vice-chairpersons
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan shared a light moment on Thursday amidst an ongoing discussion regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill at the Upper House of the Parliament.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha Chairman, the MP said, “Sir aapki kursi bahut mazedaar hai.…ye seven star hotel me koi acchi chiz hai to ye chair bahut badiya hai”( In this seven-star hotel, if there’s anything that’s good, it’s your rolling chair). Bacchan jokingly referred to the newly built Parliament complex as a ‘seven-star hotel’. She further said, “Now, I know why you keep coming back and sitting here so long”.
The Samajwadi Party MP thanked Dhankhar for giving the women MP’s an opportunity to chair the Rajya Sabha proceedings amidst the discusion on the reservation bill. In her speech, Bachchan also said “The precedent should continue. This shouldn’t be cosmetic, otherwise the women of this House will label you a plastic surgeon”. Responding to this, Dhankhar jokingly said, “…I know your fire power”.
Around 13 women MPs sat along with the Rajya Sabha chairman to oversee the house proceedings on Thursday, apart from the current panel of vice-chairpersons.
The Parliament approved the bill for reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women after the Rajya Sabha unanimously cleared it on Thursday. All 214 MPs present in the House voted in favour of the bill.
On Tuesday, the government introduced a constitutional amendment bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reviving the concept of women’s reservation pending for 27 years for want of consensus among parties.
Making it the first bill to be introduced in the new building of the Parliament, the government said it will enable greater participation of women in policy-making at the state and national levels and help achieve the goal of making India a developed country by 2047. The bill was named Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
(with PTI inputs)