September 21, 2023
Mausam Noor’s speech on The Constitution (128th) Amendment Bill, 2023 (Women’s Reservation Bill) in the Rajya Sabha
Thank you, hon. Vice Chairperson Madam. I come from a party called the All India Trinamool Congress whose founder gave 41 per cent of Lok Sabha tickets to women way back in 2014. I come from a party founded by Ms. Mamata Banerjee which already has 40 per cent of women MPs in the Lok Sabha. I come from a party that already has 50 per cent women elected in the Panchayats and in the Municipalities. I come from a party founded 25 years ago which spoke in Parliament for the Women’s Reservation Bill way back in 1998. Madam, our words were not empty words, our words were put into action. Today, we are glad that the rest of India, including this Government which gave only 12 per cent tickets to women has learnt little from India’s only woman serving as the Chief Minister. The BJP has sixteen Chief Ministers, none of them are women. Madam, we have already implemented the Women’s Reservation Bill in the past. This Government is trying to bring a Bill in the present which it cannot implement in the near future. Mr. Prime Minister, Sir, listen carefully to what I am saying. I am Mausam Noor from Malda, West Bengal. I have been elected twice in the Lok Sabha and now serving my third term in Parliament, in the Rajya Sabha. If you are really serious about this Bill, please give 33 per cent tickets to women in the five upcoming State elections in November this year and in general elections, 2024, next year. Madam, of course, we support this Bill. It is our Bill, it is our idea, it is what we have already implemented. Let me try to explain to you as to how this Bill is fundamentally flawed because this Bill is linked to both delimitation exercise and the Census. It is like writing a cheque with no balance in your account and the cheque is dated not September, 2023, but, maybe 2034. In other words, you cannot cash the cheque now. You can only keep it in your drawer. You will feel good about it, but, you would not have any money in your account. This is exactly what this Government is telling the women of India. Madam, going beyond the words of Parliament, we as a nation need to change our thinking. In the Election Commission of India, of thenine top posts, not even one is a woman. Out of 11,000 IAS officers, between 1951 and 2020, only one out of ten was a woman. Only one out of 10 IPS officers is a woman. Out of 688 Judges, only 83 are women. Only 15 per cent of women hold senior and managerial positions in India. It is heartening that in West Bengal, every district has a police station that is solely run by women. If a woman has to be represented, it has to be a team effort. In conclusion, Madam, I urge the Prime Minister one thing. What is the name of the Lok Sabha MP of yours who shamed us, who harassed our champion wrestlers? On behalf of the women of India, I want to know what he is still doing, sitting here in this new building. Thank you, Madam.
