PRESS-RELEASE

PRESS-RELEASE 27-6-2009

Following is the text of the letter written to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill seeking re-introduction of Double Member Constituency System as prevalent in 1952 and 1957 General Elections of India.

To 25-6-2009

Dr Manmohan Singh
Hon'ble Prime Minister of India
New Delhi.

Subject: Request to consider re-introduction of Double Member Constituency system for the proposed Women’s Reservation in Parliament and Legislatures.

Respected Sir,

The entire country is keenly aware of the hot topic of proposed reservation for Women in Parliament and State Legislatures, a matter that has been hanging fire since long. The protagonists and antagonists of the issue have been agitated over it and are vocal in various fora. The Congress Party is rightly favoring the Women's cause, keeping with the old policy while granting them favorable rights regarding marital affairs, domestic violence against house wives, education for the girl child and her right to property besides giving them due representation in the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
After the recent electoral mandate and assumption by your goodself of the exalted post of the Prime Minister for the second time, the UPA Govt. under your sagacious and far-sighted leadership have committed to the nation through the Presidential Address to the Joint Session of the Parliament that the Women Reservation Bill will soon be passed. Serious opposition is being encountered on this issue, as some Parties are raking up local and caste-based matters to side-track this important legislation. I, most humbly wish to submit a suggestion for your kind consideration which may blunt the opposition to this matter.
-2- As we are aware the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas during the year 1952 and 1957 elections had Double Member Constituencies in which "Reserved" and "General" members were elected to various Houses fromc the same Constituency but belonging to different castes / classes. It is a matter of the record, which was subsequently done away with through the “Two Member Constituencies (Abolition) Act 1961”, for reasons best known then. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Amritsar, also have Double Member Constituency. The women are elected to this House on this basis as well as they can stand in the General Constituency. They were enabled to do so by a Notification issued by the Govt. of India a few years ago.
Needless to mention, that whenever reservation has been done as in the case of Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes there are no avenues left for General category leadership to emerge. Some S.C/ S.T seats have been reserved for the last 30 years and again have been reserved for the next many years by the recent Delimitation Commission.
Therefore, in order to assuage the feelings of all categories of people and allow emergence and natural growth of leadership, it is highly imperative to revert back to the Double Member Constituency system as prevalent in 1952 and 1957. This system if allowed again would only add to the numerical strength of the Parliament and Legislatures necessitating more seating arrangement without affecting the present delimitation process. Even the British House of Commons has proportionately much higher number of members than ours.
I have submitted the above views for your kind consideration, should you view them of some value.

With great personal regards,

Yours Sincerely,

(Sukhpal Singh Khaira)
MLA Punjab and Official Spokes erson

CC: Smt. Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson UPA.