OBC, minority women should also benefit from reservation: Dimple Yadav

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party member Dimple Yadav taking part in the discussion on the women’s reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday said it was important that women belonging to other backward castes and minorities get benefit from it.

"Without revolution, evolution is not possible. For evolution to take place in our country, it is very important that women from OBC, SC and minorities get reservation…,” she said.

"Samajwadi Party has been demanding that women belonging to backward class, and minority community should also be given reservation. I want to ask will this reservation be applicable in Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils in addition to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas,” she said.

She also asked the government whether this Bill, if passed, will be implemented in upcoming Assembly polls and general elections. Assembly polls are due in Telangana, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Mizoram later this year.

Further, she asked when will the government start the decennial census and in addition, whether the government is going to do a caste-based census. As tabled in the Parliament, the new women's reservation Bill in its current form says it will be effective once the decennial census and delimitation of constituencies are done. The decennial census, which was supposed to be held in 2021, has not yet started.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had on Tuesday introduced the new Bill -- Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, in its very first sitting of the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament complex.

The Women Reservation Bill seeks to guarantee 33 per quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Reservation for women in Parliament and Legislative assemblies has been a promise of many parties, including the BJP for years.