After bringing in 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats, the next item on the agenda is to ensure that there is 50 per cent reservation for women in municipalities throughout the country.
In the meeting of the cabinet on Thursday, the government is likely to approve 50 per cent reservation for women in municipalities. 33 per cent reservation already exists and this would now be further enhanced to 50 per cent.
With representation for women on in full swing at the lower level of governance, the Congress leadership is keen to fulfill its promise of bringing in 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies.
The standing committee for law and justice, under whose jurisdiction the women's reservation bill falls, is likely to submit its report to parliament by the first week of December on the women's reservation bill, though the chairman of the committee Jayanti Natarajan is trying to build a consensus amongst the members; while the members including Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and others continue to oppose the bill in its present form and wanting caste based reservation within reservation.
The women's reservation bill is a promise made by the Congress in subsequent elections, but so far the party has shied away from actually taking the bull by the horn and pushing through the legislation with the help of parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left, which have been supportive of the bill.
The winter session of parliament, which was to begin on November 9, will now commence on November 19 and end on December 22. The government is expected to line up a whole host of legislation and in the midst of this, it is also likely that the Jharkhand elections will be held. The state governor has already recommended dissolution of the state assembly and this is likely to be taken up next week in the cabinet meeting.
With the election results to three state assemblies (in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh) out on Thursday, the Congress is hopeful of a three-zero score with the spotlight on the fate of the political parties in the three assemblies.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is away in Shimla with her daughter Priyanka, and so far it is not clear whether she will be back in Delhi by Thursday for the election results.
