In an surprising development today the right wing Hindu fundamentalist
Bharatiya Janata Party BJP announced its proposal to grant 33 % reservation to
women in its organisational structure.
The reservations will be at a) local b) district c) "mandal" levels d) state &
national working committee level and e) the Central election committee level.
While this is a beginning , the first of its kind by any political party it
will surely send shock waves to other political party if they do not follow
suit before the next hustings.
To ensure that there is no opposition from within the ranks the 33% quota at
the above levels will be for the moment in addition to the existing strenght of
the organisation to ensure that those in the saddle can complete their term and
make room for the reservations for women gradually.
When this writer spoke to a local BJP supporter, he admitted that the party was
toying with this idea for long for it could carve an instant vote bank among
women voters who would fall head over heels to grab such positions for self
empowerment and be involved in policy making.
In a snide remark he however stated that the BJP had all along missed the bus
on two ocassions when the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments giving
statutory status to the Panchayats and Municipalities .Yet another bolt from
the blue came when the UPA Government preferrred to have the its first women
President of India.
Not to be outwitted any further the BJP pulled in this googly. It is now left
to be seen if the INC has the courage of conviction to introduce the the 33%
reservation for women bill in Parliament. He even jokingly remarked that the
BJP is also receptive of the idea of having the first Dalit as Deputy Prime
Minister (not PM right now ) or the Vice President or the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha in its near future.
It may be noted that perhaps for the first time in the history of Independent
India, the Chaiperson of the UPA, the President, Prime Minister, Vice
President, Defence Minister all belong to minority or non Brahmins, a
development which had outwitted the BJP all along.
The BJP however is well aware of the inner dissent to this move too from the
male species will have to tread a cautious path by ensuring that as of now
there will not yet be reservation for the post of chairpersons of any and all
of the above committees at all levels. And surely there is no reservation yet
for the Parliamentary board.
There will be no reservation in the parliamentary board of the party as
well.'There was no unanimity in the party on this issue. But the impact of the
reservations in the organisation will definitely be visible in the
parliamentary board with passage of time,' Swaraj said.
It is a welcome move and definitely put the INC and all other political parties
on notice. With the delimitation of constituencies to be notified soon it
could well be that the elections slated for 2008 and 2009 could wll be on the
basis of delimitation and eventually there may be an ocassion to hold both the
Assembly and Parliament elections together in 2009 if not earlier.
In Goa niether the INC BJP or NCP have 33% reservations for women in their
Organisations and it is essentially a male centric except for their women wings
which have no role whatsoever in the policy making at any level.
Several NGO's this writer spoke to also welcomed this move and indeed were of
the view that if the Organisational wings of the Political parties had made
such a move since the Women's Liberation Movement started in early seventies by
now State Legislatures and Parliament would have had 33% reservations for women.
GODFREY J. I. GONSALVES,
BORDA, MARGAO, 403 602, GOA. (INDIA)
+91 98221 58584 (24 HRS)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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