Eeshna Dashottar, Pune
A special five-day Parliament session commenced on the 18th of September with discussions on the current issues and events expected to happen amongst the political leaders. The session is expected to continue till the 22nd of September with various topics on the agenda that are expected to be discussed.
The first session happened in the Old Parliament building making it the last session in the building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the session, recalling the democratic journey of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru’s “tryst with destiny” speech, and remembering the contributions of former Prime Ministers like Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. He also mentioned the historic journey of the Old Parliament building, highlighting its unique place in India’s political journey. He said that the building will inspire future generations, becoming a golden part of India’s democratic history. PM Modi also proposed that the Old Parliament building henceforth be called ‘Samvidhan Sadan’ and be further renovated for parliamentary events.
During the second session in the New Parliament building, the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha after almost 25 years of waiting. The bill, also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, aims at empowering women and bringing their representation to the Parliament. It will grant 33 per cent of the seats to women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. Furthermore, one-third of the seats in the existing SC and ST reservations will be reserved for women. The bill, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has been passed by 454 Lok Sabha members and will be further taken up by Rajya Sabha for the remaining two days of the session.
The third session will include the continuation of discussion on the women’s reservation bill along with India’s success in the Chandrayaan-3 mission.