Women's Reservation Bill to be tabled in Rajya Sabha today

New Delhi, Mar 8 (ANI): The Women's Reservation Bill, which provides 33 per cent reservation of women in Parliament and the State Assemblies, will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha today.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily will table the Bill for consideration and passage by the Upper House of Parliament.

Hailing the consensus reached among major political parties on the Bill, Moily said no single party could claim credit for it. He expressed the hope that the bill would be passed this time.

Supporting the Bill, the Congress and the BJP issued whips to their members to remain present in the House to support the Bill.

The Left and allies of both the ruling and opposition like NCP, TDP, DMK, AIADMK, Akali Dal, BJD and National Conference have pledged support to the bill.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party have decided to oppose the bill in its present form.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal has appealed to all political parties to support the bill, which has been waiting for passage into law for more than a decade. (ANI)