The historic bill, first introduced in 1996 that promises to reserve 33 per cent of legislative seats for women in the country was moved in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, amid unruly scenes as a dozen members opposing it tore up the document and hurled the pieces at chairman Hamid Ansari before forcing a fifth adjournment of the day.
This happened on a day when both houses assembled to the call to “celebrate and honour women” and include them in the decision making process to mark Women’s Day being observed worldwide.
The controversial bill – for which the ruling United Progress Alliance (UPA) has support of numbers from the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communists but opposition from the northern regional parties – faced repeated opposition in the two houses, though it was taken up for consideration only in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.