Amid speculation that the Women's Reservation Bill that seeks to reserve 33% seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women may be tabled in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Special Session, sources have said to IANS that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up to make it a "grand occasion". The bill is said to have been approved in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening, and the government is expected to present it in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, September 20.
Meanwhile, the proceedings of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will commence in the new Parliament building on Tuesday.
According to sources, the BJP has started preparations to make the passage of the bill a big occasion. They said that the ruling party has asked its MPs from Delhi and neighbouring states to bring women to the national capital in large numbers. It is likely that these women will be taken to the new Parliament as spectators, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi may address them.
In May 2008, the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha and was referred to a standing committee. It was passed in the upper house in 2010 and then it was sent to Lok Sabha. However, it could not be passed in the 15th Lok Sabha.