The Women Reservation Bill, 2023 was passed with a whopping majority in the Lok Sabha.
The bill is good in principle but not entirely good in practice. It was introduced to give women adequate representation in Parliament and State legislatures. I am of the opinion that the 33% quota will perpetuate dynastic rule, more so in a smaller States.
In Goa, for instance, we have 40 legislators. There are some families in the State that wield great influence in a particular constituency. Over the years this influence spills over to the neighboring constituencies. These powerful families will be tempted to field their family women folk in such neighbouring constituencies which are reserved for women.
Thus a few families will get a stranglehold of the State. The same may not be the case at the national level, but nevertheless it will perpetuate dynastic politics to a large extent.
