The Vice President of India, ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar has reconstituted the panel of vice-chairpersons with the eight member panel with 50 percent(4 members) of women parliamentarians with effect from 13th September 2023.
- For the first time in the history of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian Parliament) has given equal representation to women members in the panel.
- The four new women Vice-Chairpersons were announced by Jagdeep Dhankhar in the Upper House, on the first day of the Special Session of the Parliament which was held from 18th-22nd September, 2023.
- The panel of vice-chairpersons comprises an equal number of men and women Member of Parliament(MP).
Newly Appointed Four Women Vice-Chairpersons:
The four new women Vice-Chairpersons are: Kanta Kardam(Uttar Pradesh), Sumitra Balmik(Madhya Pradesh), Mamata Mohanta (Odisha) and Geeta alias Chandraprabha(Uttar Pradesh).
Kanta Kardam:
i.She was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2018 by representing Uttar Pradesh. She belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party.
ii.She served as President of Anti Corruption Cell (Western Uttar Pradesh) and Human Rights Commission, Uttar Pradesh.
iii.She is the member of Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Committee for the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas etc
Sumitra Balmik
i.Sumitra Balmik was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2022 to represent Madhya Pradesh. She also belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party.
ii.She is the member of Committee on Petitions, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.
Mamata Mohanta
i.She was elected to Rajya Sabha from Odisha in 2020. She is from Biju Janata Dal party.
ii.She is the Member of Committee on Rules, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Committee on Empowerment of Women and Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.
Geeta alias Chandraprabha
i.She is representing Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha 2020 onwards. She belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party.
ii.She is member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes and Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.
Male members:
The male members of the panel are
i.Akhilesh Prasad Singh(member of Indian National Congress representing Bihar),
ii.Narain Dass Gupta(member of Aam Aadmi Party representing Delhi),
iii.V. Vijayasai Reddy(member of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party representing Andhra Pradesh)
iv.Santanu Sen(member of All India Trinamool Congress representing West Bengal).
Note: The Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar nominated 4 women Parliamentarians namely Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha (PT Usha), Phangnon Konyak, Fauzia Khan and Sulata Deo to the panel of vice-chairpersons in July 2023.
13 Women Vice-chairpersons Panel for a Day to Discuss Women’s Reservation Bill
The Vice President of India, ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar has constituted 13 women Parliamentarians to the panel of vice-chairpersons.The panel was reconstituted for a day to discuss the Women’s reservation Bill or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023.
- The panel of vice-chairpersons was constituted for a day specifically to discuss the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2023. This suggests that the panel was formed temporarily to address this particular legislative matter or session to discuss the bill.
- For the first time in the history of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian Parliament) has constituted an all-women panel of Vice-Chairpersons in Rajya Sabha.
New Panel of 13 Vice-Chairpersons:
The list of panel of Vice chairperson includes –
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil(PT) Usha(nominated), S. Phangnon Konyak (Nagaland), Jaya Bachchan (Uttar Pradesh), Saroj Pandey (Chhattisgarh) , Rajani Ashokrao Patil (Maharashtra), Fauzia Khan (Maharashtra), Dola Sen (West Bengal), Indu Bala Goswami(Himachal Pradesh), Kanimozhi NVN Somu (Tamil Nadu), Kavita Patidar (Madhya Pradesh), Mahua Maji (Jharkhand), Kalpana Saini (Uttarakhand) and Sulata Deo (Odisha).
Women’s Reservation Bill 2023
- The Women’s Reservation Bill 2023, officially titled as The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 and commonly referred to as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, has been introduced in the Indian Parliament.
- This bill, which aims to enhance gender representation, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19th September 2023 during a special parliamentary session.
- This legislation is to allocate 33 percent of the seats in the directly elected Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies to women.
Bill Enactment Delayed Until 2026
- The Women’s Reservation Bill cannot be enacted into law until the year 2026.The bill can only become effective after a process known as “delimitation” is carried out in the country.Delimitation is necessary to allocate seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies in a manner that reserves a specific percentage (in this case, 33 percent) for women.
- Without the completion of the delimitation process, it is not possible to implement the provisions of the bill effectively, as it relies on a well-defined electoral map to allocate seats appropriately.
- According to the current legal framework, the next delimitation exercise can only take place after the first census conducted post the year 2026. In simpler terms, this means that the Women’s Reservation Bill cannot become a law and be put into action until at least 2026.
Recent Related News:
On 26th June 2023, Hardwar Dubey, Member of Parliament (MP) – Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh (UP), passed away at the age of 74 in New Delhi, Delhi.
- He was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was a sitting MP Rajya Sabha from UP since November 2020.
About Panel of Vice-Chairpersons:
The panel of vice-chairpersons is a group of members nominated to assist the chairman or the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in conducting its business efficiently.
- The Vice Chairpersons conduct the proceedings of the House when the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are not available.
