'Historic legislation': PM Modi, Amit Shah after Women's Reservation Bill passed in Lok Sabha

Ruling BRS MLC in Telangana K Kavitha on Wednesday welcomed the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha even as she said that she would fight for securing quota for women belonging to backward classes.

Lok Sabha will on Thursday hold a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Just before he adjourned the House for the day after the passage of the women's reservation bill, Speaker Om Birla informed the members that Lok Sabha will take up a discussion on the success of the latest moon mission and the India's glorious space journey.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with some opposition leaders on Thursday expressed surprise over the President not being invited to the important occasion of shifting Parliament to new premises. Parliament moved into a swanky new complex on Tuesday. An event to mark the occasion was held in the historic Central Hall of the old building and was presided by Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar.

Delhi: On voting against the Women's Reservation Bill on Lok Sabha, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, "... There are 7% Muslim women in the Indian population and their representation is 0.7%... We voted against it so that they would know that there were two MPs who were fighting for the inclusion of the OBC and the Muslim women..."

"I want to congratulate everyone. A historic bill has passed. But there has been a delay by the government in bringing this bill. There are only six months in the (Lok Sabha) elections. The government brought this bill looking at these 6 months and the strength of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. This is absolutely political," Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said.

"Delighted at the passage of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha with such phenomenal support. I thank MPs across Party lines who voted in support of this Bill. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a historic legislation which will further boost women empowerment and will enable even greater participation of women in our political process," PM Modi posted on X.

"This is a new chapter in women empowerment. Many greetings and congratulations to PM Modi," said Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

"What a better way to begin Parliamentary innings for any parliamentarian than with the passage of a bill that crores of women were waiting for long..," Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said.

Lok Sabha passed Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Bill). 454 MPs were voted in favour of the bill, and 2 voted against it.

"I extend my heartfelt gratitude to PM @narendramodi Ji for the Women's Reservation Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha today. It has transformed the political discourse in our nation. Throughout the ages, women in India have shaped individuals, families, our society, and the economy with their care, compassion, and selfless contributions. The new bill will harness their power in shaping the destiny of our nation. It will strengthen our Parliamentary Democracy by making our laws and policies more gender-inclusive and effective," posted Home Minister Amit Shah on X.

The proceeding of Lok Sabha was adjourned till 11 am, September 21.

"His (HM Amit Shah) statement is hypocritical because a commitment made to the women of the country 9 and a half years ago in the 2014 manifesto and coming and merging as a single largest party with all parties asking you to introduce the bill, has taken 9 and a half years," said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in parliament.

Lok Sabha MPs are voting on clauses of the bill on demand of an Opposition MP.

Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the new Parliament House, 454 votes were cast in favor of the bill, while two votes went against of it in the Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha passed the historic Women's Reservation Bill over to Rajya Sabha now on Wednesday.

Rajya Sabha was adjourned till September 21.

Voting on the Women's Reservation Bill passage began in the Lok Sabha.

On Women's Reservation Bill, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, "....Sushma Swaraj ji had said that this development journey is incomplete without the representation of women in it..."

After the election, the delimitation will take place and soon 33 per cent women will be seen here (Lok Sabha), said Shah.

They (Congress MPs) are asking for a report card of ten years of ours but not giving theirs that of 60 years, said Shah. 

Home Minister Amit Shah took a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi by saying the roots of some people are not connected to India. "Problem is their roots are not in India, I don't want to say where they are," he said.

This was the fifth attempt to materialise the bill, what were the reasons, Shah questioned

On the Women's Reservation Bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament "Safety, respect and participation of women are the lifeblood of our government."

Home Minister Amit Shah countered Rahul Gandhi's remarks by saying "daro mat, daro mat (don't scare, don't scare)".

"Yesterday was a day which will be written with golden letters in India’s parliamentary history as the bill to give reservation to women, which was pending for years, was tabled,” says Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Lok Sabha.

"PM Modi empowered women, I want to thank PM Modi...the bill will be a changemaker," said Shah.

When Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, he gave the slogan of 'beti bachao, beti padhao', shah praised PM Modi.

For some parties women's empowerment might be a political agenda but for my party and my leader Narendra Modi it is not a political issue, said Shah.

Home Minister Amit Shah started speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill after Rahul Gandhi's speech

Out of 90 only 3 secretary are from OBC community, said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi batted for caste-census asserting people must know the number of OBC, SC and ST people living in the country.

A ruckus was created by MPs from the ruling side when Rahul Gandhi raised OBC's representation at the secretary level in the Centre.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi targeted the government over not including OBC women in the Women's Reservation Bill.

It was a huge step when women got reservation in the Panchayat election, and subsequently entered into the election process for the first time, said Rahul Gandhi.

While speaking in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said he supports the Women's Reservation Bill.

Chandrayaan-3 mission cost only around US $75 million (approximately). Our Chandrayaan-3 mission commanded a lesser budget than some movies made on space itself, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha on ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Chandrayaan-3 mission cost only around USD 75 million (approximately). Our Chandrayaan-3 mission commanded a lesser budget than some movies made on space itself...," said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha on ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman briefed Rajya Sabha on ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha shortly

"I will speak in the Parliament and this is why I have come here," said Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will speak on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha today.

"...We have made women count. And it is time for you to step up in the opposition, and not mere reduce your words to paper, to speech, but speak with action and support Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam," said Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha.

"As a modern Indian woman, representation is very important for us. When women are in positions of power, there will be a female gaze in debates, policies, and law-making -- this is very important. This is an era of women. It is a matter of pride for us that we came here with our cast (film Thank You For Coming)..," said Actress Bhumi Pednekar.

"If we look from the perspective of the dignity of the Constitution, then (Goddess) Lakshmi has taken a Constitutional form through this (Women's Reservation) Bill," Irani began her speech.

Union Minister Smriti Irani is speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. 

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said the reservation is for the creamy layer, which is why the demand is that this (women's) reservation should extend to backward and the most backward classes. "It is to be seen what the government does," he added. 

YSR Congress has extended its support to the Women's Reservation Bill. "Our party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy decided that we should support the Women's Reservation Bill and YSR Congress Party has already been implementing it in the state of Andhra Pradesh and we will extend full support to the bill," said YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy. 

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Congress for raising questions on the Women's Reservation Bill. "The Congress raising an objection on this (Women's Reservation Bill) should understand that this is a historic work being done, which other governments couldn't do, either they didn't have the courage or couldn't get the Bill passed," he added. 

Amid the ongoing debate on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be speaking in the House at 4 pm today. 

Speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill, NCP MP Supriya Sule says, "Nishikant Dubey said that I.N.D.I.A is on the side of people who ran women down and spoke derogatorily...There was a Head of the BJP in Maharashtra. He told me personally on record on television - "Supriya Sule ghar jaao, khana banao, desh koi aur chala lega. Hum log chalayenge." This is what the BJP's mindset is..."

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dimple Yadav has demanded reservation for Muslim women as well. She said that women from SC, ST and OBC should also get reservations. "Why the Women's Reservation Bill not applicable for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils. The government needs to also clear its stand on caste-based census," she added. 

On the Women's Reservation Bill BSP chief Mayawati says, "According to this bill the reservation will not be provided to women in the country in the coming 15-16 years. After the passing of this bill, it wouldn't be implemented immediately. First, a census in the country would be conducted and after this delimitation of seats would be done. A census takes a lot of time...After this, only this bill would be implemented...It is clear that this bill is not brought with an intention to give reservations to women. But to give an allurement to the women before the upcoming elections..."

Janata Dal (United) has extended its support for the Women's Reservation Bill. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, "Our party supports the Women's Reservation Bill as we believe in women empowerment. However, this bill is a panic reaction to the formation of I.N.D.I.A bloc. This bill is a 'jumla' ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," he added. 

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has questioned the government on the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill. "Devil in the detail came across...The census was to be held in 2021 and now 2023 is about to end and it hasn't been done yet and we don't know when will it happen. After the census, delimitation will take place and then this Reservation Bill will be implemented...Why did you bring this bill when you're not implementing it?... This male-dominated parliament betrayed women and today also it was a betrayal," she said. 

During the debate on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, TMC MP Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastida said that West Bengal is the only state in the country which has a female Chief Minister. "We are actually delighted to witness the realisation of our leader Mamata Banerjee's vision where women's rightful entitlements are being recognised," she added.

DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the govt's reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all stakeholders, political parties and then build a consensus before bringing the bill. I would like to know what consensus was built. What discussions were held? This bill was brought shrouded in secrecy. We did not know what this session was called for..."

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah has backed the Women's Reservation Bill. "I think it is a wonderful bill. For a long time, 15 years we have been waiting for women to get their rights. The only thing I say is that OBCs should also be included in that...All women must get power, that is important. India is also for them as for men," he added. 

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that people across India are rejoicing the introduction of Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament. "Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam shows the unwavering commitment of the Modi government to empower women. It is sad that the Opposition is not able to digest the bill," he added. 

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has launched a fresh salvo on Congress on the Women's Reservation Bill. He also accused Sonia Gandhi of just focusing on taking credits. "Congress had brought the bill but with no intention of implementing it. This bill is of BJP and Modi ji. Introducing this bill is a historic decision. Sonia Gandhi is doing politics on the Women's Reservation Bill," he added. 

Sonia Gandhi said that the immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill by removing all obstacles not only necessary but also possible. She also demanded that the women's quota bill be implemented immediately with a sub-quota for SCs, STs, and OBCs. "Any delay in implementing women's reservation bill will be a gross injustice to Indian women," she added. 

Speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill, Sonia Gandhi claimed it is difficult to gauge the extent of patience of women. "They never think of taking rest. The reservation should also be given to the OBC women. The Women's Reservation Bill was first brought by Congress," she added. 

Congress leader has supported the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. Speaking in the House, she said, "I support the Nari Shakti Vandan Abhiyan. I stand in support of the Women's Reservation Bill." 

Union Minister Arjun Meghwal said, "There will be 33 per cent reservation for women in state assemblies. The reservation will be in place for 15 years. After 15 years, Parliament will take a decision to extend it further. Previous governments did not care about the reservation for women."

Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal is speaking in the Lok Sabha. He said that there has been an amendment in the Women's Reservation Bill. He further said that this is an important bill for women empowerment. 

Proceedings of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha has begun. 

DMK MP Tiruchi Shiva has opposed the Hindi name of the women's reservation bill. He said that 'Naari Shakti Vandana Adhiniyam' is a difficult name and the majority of people can't speak it properly. 

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has welcomed the Women's Reservation Bill. "We welcome the Women's Reservation Bill. We all know it was a long pending thing...It has taken 13 years to come to Lok Sabha now. At last, the elections are here, therefore, PM Modi will always do these kinds of Jumlas near to the elections for that he has brought the bill," he added. 

Ahead of the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, floor leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) held a meeting to chalk out the strategy for the floor of the house. The meeting was held at the office of Rajya Sabha leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament.

Speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that "this is an act to fool the public and a desperate effort by the BJP to change people's perception towards them." "Firstly, they (the government) maintained secrecy on the Bill. Then, all of a sudden we come to know that Cabinet has taken a decision. This battle is being fought for the past 30 years. It was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010, but not in the Lok Sabha. They have imposed terms and conditions (referring to delimitation), this is an act to fool the public and a desperate effort by the BJP to change people's perception towards them," he added. 

The Congress party will support the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. However, Sonia Gandhi will talk about the "loopholes" during her speech in the Lok Sabha today. 

MoS Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that a discussion will be held today throughout the day on the Women's Reservation Bill. "Discussion will be done throughout the day. It will begin at 11 and it has been scheduled to continue till 6 pm...This has nothing to do with politics..."

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that the fight for the credit on the Women's Reservation Bill should end. "The fight for credit should end...It's your government it may be some other government (in rule) tomorrow. If you talk about women then why do you fight over credit? You have got the bill, you have tabled it, you've shown courage and we appreciate your courage," he added.

Speaking on the Women's Reservation Bill, Congress president and LoP in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the intentions of the BJP. "In 2010, we had passed the Bill in Rajya Sabha. But it failed to be passed by the Lok Sabha. That is why, this is not a new bill. Had they taken that bill forward, it would have been done quickly by this day...I feel that they are publicising this in view of elections but actually unless the delimitation or census takes place...you can feel how long it is going to take. They could have continued with the earlier one but their intentions are something else...But we will insist that women's reservation has to be brought and we will fully cooperate. But the loopholes and drawbacks should be rectified," he added. 

ISRO's successful lunar landing mission 'Chandrayaan-3', which made India, the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China to have done so, will be discussed in the Rajya Sabha during the first half today. The discussion will be held soon after the laying of papers and tabling of reports of the standing committee on labour, textiles and skill development as well as the reports of the committee on public accounts.

On Women's Reservation Bill, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "...I challenge that if BJP's policy and intention are honest, then give a guarantee that women will get a reservation in 2024 elections - we will stand with you with all our strength. Are the Backward and SC, not women? How will you go for women's reservation without including them? I only say that if you were honest, the 2010 Bill that was passed by the Rajya Sabha is still there - you should have passed that in the Lok Sabha and started the reservation..."

There will be an extensive discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. The discussion is likely to begin at 11 am and will continue till 6 pm in the House. 

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to open the debate on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha today, sources said. Meanwhile, Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani and others will be also be speaking on the matter.