Chhattisgarh CM Sai moves resolution in assembly for 33 pc women's quota in legislative bodies
Raipur, Apr 30 (PTI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday tabled a resolution in the state assembly seeking the immediate implementation of one-third reservation for women in Parliament and all state legislative assemblies after completing the delimitation process.
A one-day special session of the assembly was convened to deliberate on the resolution, after the Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
The Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated in the Lower House on April 17 as 298 members voted in support of the Bill, and 230 MPs voted against it. Out of the 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
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The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census data.
Presenting the resolution in the Chhattisgarh assembly on Thursday, CM Sai said that for women's dignity, overall development and empowerment, one-third reservation for them in the Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies should be enforced immediately following the delimitation exercise.
Speaker Raman Singh allotted four hours for discussion on the resolution.
However, Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant said he has also submitted a similar resolution, appealing to the Centre to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and assemblies within the existing strength at the earliest, but it was not taken up.
The Speaker then said Mahant's proposal was a non-official resolution and could not be admitted because the special session's agenda had been pre-decided.
He said that the session was convened for official business and disallowed the Opposition's resolution.
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Mahant, however, argued that what the CM read does not fall under the category of a resolution. He claimed the CM had earlier said (outside the House while talking to reporters) his government would bring a censure motion (against Congress on the issue).
The Congress leader also alleged the current proposal was introduced in haste and was unrelated to the initially stated subject.
Senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar countered that deciding matters for discussion is within the House's jurisdiction. He also said that statements made outside the House cannot be debated within it.
This led to a brief exchange of words between the Congress and BJP members in the House.
Intervening, the Speaker said there was adequate time for all members to express their views and urged them to participate constructively in the discussion before initiating the debate.
Notably, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a government resolution to grant 33 per cent reservation to women in legislative bodies after completing the delimitation exercise, in the absence of MLAs of the main Opposition Congress who staged a walkout.
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3 held, hunt on for 4 accomplices after they kidnap, assault and urinate on man in Bhopal
Bhopal (PTI): Police have registered a case against seven persons and arrested three of them for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting and urinating on a 22-year-old man in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, officials said on Thursday.
The incident occurred during the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in an area located under the Hanumanganj police station limits, an official said.
One of the accused urinated on the face of the victim and captured a video of the act, which was later circulated on social media to humiliate him, he said.
"A complaint in this connection was lodged by Jaswant Markam (22), a resident of Kamla Nagar, based on which a case was registered against seven persons under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and police have arrested three of them, including one Prem Thapa," Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said.
Three police teams have been formed and the remaining suspects will be apprehended soon, he said.
During the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, Markam was at the local bus stand with a friend when around 4 am, the accused took him away on the pretext of discussing something with him. They asked him about his neighbour and friend Aniket. When he refused to provide any information, they started assaulting him, the police said.
The accused then took him to a forest in Karond area, where he was stripped and severely thrashed, they said.
When the man began to lose consciousness, one of the accused urinated on his face and made a video of the act, which was circulated on social media to humiliate him and spread terror, according to the police.
The accused called Markam's friend around 5 am to inform him about his condition. The victim was subsequently admitted to a hospital, the officials said, adding that the viral video was also being investigated.
Responding to a query, Hanumanganj police station in-charge Awdhesh Bhadoria said if the victim was found to be from the tribal community, then relevant sections will be invoked against the accused.
At present, the police are probing the incident and search is on to arrest the remaining accused, he added.
In 2023, a man had urinated on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media platforms and created a controversy.
