**A landmark bill reserving a third of parliamentary seats for women is due to be reintroduced in India’s parliament.**The bill is to be presented in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) on Monday and in the lower house (Lok Sabha) later.
The bill has been stalled for the past 14 years due to opposition from various political parties. Earlier moves to pass it have been unsuccessful.
Its opponents in parliament have demanded set quotas for women from Muslim and low-caste communities.
“We will table the bill in the upper house today,” news agency AFP quoted Congress party leader PS Ghatwar as saying.
“The bill if passed then will move to the lower house.”
Analysts say the bill is likely to be passed this time round. It has the support of the Congress-led UPA alliance, BJP-led NDA alliance and the Left parties.
The tabling of the bill has seen protests from several smaller opposition parties who have vowed to disrupt the proceedings in parliament.
The bill, first introduced in parliament in 1996, proposes to reserve 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies.
There are 61 women MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha at the moment.
The quota bill, if approved, will take their numbers up to 181.