- The bill seeks 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies
- The reservation of seats for women will cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Amendment Act.
- Women’s security, respect and equal participation have been the life force of the government since Modi took the oath of office: Amit Shah
- Census and delimitation exercise soon after elections, says Amit Shah
NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, SEPT 20
In a historic move, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to ensure reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. While as many as 454 Mps voted in favour of the bill, two members voted against it.
लोक सभा में #नारीशक्तिवंदन अधिनियम पारित होने पर देश की महिलाओं को बधाई। महिला सशक्तिकरण की दिशा में अब तक की यह सबसे बड़ी पहल, सदन में महिलाओं की अधिक सहभागिता सुनिश्चित कर उन्हें देश के विकास तथा देशवासियों के कल्याण के लिए और अधिक सक्रियता से कार्य करने के अवसर उपलब्ध करवाएगी। pic.twitter.com/liFMQGx5cQ
— Om Birla (मोदी का परिवार) (@ombirlakota) September 20, 2023
The bill, named as Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, seeks reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. It mandates that one third of the total seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be allocated for women from those groups.
The reservation of seats for women will cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Amendment Act.
The bill will be introduced in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the Women's Reservation Bill. https://t.co/ovvS2Hq37x
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) September 20, 2023
Earlier, participating in a debate on the bill in the lower house, Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought to allay apprehension of a delay in the implementation of the bill, saying the next government will conduct the census and the delimitation exercise immediately after the elections and set in motion the process to make reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies a reality.
Shah asserted that women empowerment is an issue of “principles and beliefs” for the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Women’s security, respect and equal participation have been the life force of the government since Modi took the oath of office, he said.
Participating in a debate on the bill in Lok Sabha, Shah sought to allay apprehension of a delay in the implementation of the bill, saying the next government will conduct the census and the delimitation exercise immediately after the elections and set in motion the process to make reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies a reality.
“If we are reserving one-third seats, then who will do it? If we do it, you will question it. Therefore the Delimitation Commission should do it. The idea is to ensure transparency,” Shah said, adding that the delimitation commission is an important body for poll process in the country.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told Lok Sabha that the provision for implementing the bill after census and delimitation was in line with the Constitution.
Responding to the day-long debate on the constitutional amendment bill for women’s reservation during which many opposition members questioned the need for census and delimitation before implementing the quota for women as it will delay the process.
Meghwal said if the government agrees to provide reservation immediately, it will be against the provisions of the Constitution.
