New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government Tuesday September 19, 2023 introduced Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 which proposes 33% reservation for Women, but its implementation is unlikely till 2029.
One third of the total seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, including in Delhi, will be reserved for women if the Bill, popularly known as Women’s Reservation Bill, becomes a law.
One third or 33% seats are already reserved for women in local and civic bodies including Panchayats.
The Women Quota Bill was passed by the Cabinet late in the evening on Monday. It was introduced in the house by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on the second day of the Parliament’s Special Session today i.e. Tuesday September 19, 2023.
The Bill was the first to be tabled in the Lok Sabha after the Parliament said farewell to its old building and moved to the new and much bigger premises.
Calling it a landmark moment for women, Prime Minister while addressing the Rajya Sabha in the Parliament’s New Building urged the members to pass the Bill unanimously.
A total of 131 seats (24.03%) are already reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes (84) and Scheduled Tribes (47).
Interestingly, the Women’s Reservation Bill was not among the agenda of the Parliament’s Special Session and list of Bills released by the Lok Sabha Secretary on September 13, 2023.
Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, had said the Bill was her party’s.
“It’s ours. Apna hai”, she told the reporters who asked her to comment on the Women’s Reservation Bill due to be tabled in the Lok Sabha later in the day as she arrived for the Parliament’s Special Session.
While addressing in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Parliament’s Upper House, also reminded the House that the Bill was introduced by the UPSA government in 2010, but “was not allowed to pass”.
“They will not give credit to us. But, I must remind that the Women’s Reservation Bill was brought in the Parliament. It was however not allowed to pass”, he said.
The two were reight as the original Bill, The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2010, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 2010 during the UPA regime. But, a vote on the Bill in the Lok Sabha remained pending because of the opposition by a number of parties. Consequently, the bill lapsed while the Lok Sabha expired during this two times in 2014 and 2019.
Bills introduced or passed in Rajya Sabha do not lapse, hence the Women's Reservation Bill was still very much active.
The Congress had in its CWC Meeting held in Hyderabad on September 17, 2023 had demanded from the government to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill pending in the Lok Sabha.
Though the Women’s Reservation Bill has been tabled in the Lok Sabha today, and is set to become a law in all likelihood, its implementation will be possible only in 2029.
“The Bill could become a law after it is tabled in the Lok Sabha today. But it will not be implemented in 2024 elections”, government sources said.
The women will have to wait till the 2029 General Elections as the implementation of the Women’s Reservation will take place after the delimitation of the constituencies expected to be done after 2026 or in 2027, the government sources said.
After the delimitation, number of MPs in the Lok Sabha, currently 543, will increase. This is also in line with the increased capacity of the Lok Sabha in the New Parliament Building that will be able to accommodate 888 members.
Earlier, the Parliament moved to the New Building after a joint session addressed by Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker Om Birla and PM Modi at the Central Hall of the Parliament.
While addressing the MPs at the Central Hall, PM Modi proposed that the Old Parliament Building will be henceforth called as “Constitution Building” or “Samvidhan Bhavan”.
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