Women's Reservation Bill: quotas even for SC/ST seats

Reservation of one-third seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies for women cleared by the Rajya Sabha will also apply in case of constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Reservation of one-third seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies for women cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday will also apply in case of constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

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The landmark Women's Reservation Bill also envisages rotation of seats so reserved for women.

In continuation of the existing provisions already mandating reservations for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, one-third of such SC and ST candidates must be women, according to the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment Bill, 2008), popularly known as Women's Reservation Bill. There are 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, out of which 122 are already reserved for SC and ST candidates.

The Bill, which has touched a raw nerve in some political outfits, seeks to insert two new articles in the Constitution to provide one-third reservation to women in Legislatures.

"After article 330 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted: 330A. Seats shall be reserved for women in the House of the People," it said.

To provide reservation for women in state Assemblies, the Bill seeks to insert Article 332A in the Constitution.

According to the Bill, provided that where a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes in relation to a state or a Union Territory is one, then in every block comprising of three Lok Sabha elections, the seat in the first LS election "shall" be reserved for women belonging to SCs or STs "and no seat shall be reserved in other two general elections".