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.
What did Kamal Haasan say?
Taking to his X account, Kamal wrote a long note, stating that coupling women’s reservation with delimitation risks creating regional imbalances. He backed a new Private Member’s Bill introduced by P Wilson and shared a statement on the ramifications of bringing in delimitation.
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.”
‘If we are serious about women…’
He continued, “If we are serious about women’s empowerment, 33% reservation must be implemented immediately within the current strength of Parliament. Any attempt to bring in delimitation through the back door risks undermining India’s federal balance amid existing regional population disparities between the North Indian states and rest of India. States like Tamil Nadu and other South Indian states, which prioritised women-centric development and population stabilisation, should be seen as models, not penalised with reduced political representation.”
“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.
