The Parliament on Thursday passed a historic bill that will reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. Several women from different political parties put aside their differences to unequivocally describe the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill as "historic."
As the women's reservation bill cleared its final legislative hurdle at the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Union Minister Smriti Irani hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the legislative feat only goes to show that "Modi hai toh mumkin hai" is not a mere saying. "We have often come across the saying Modi hai toh mumkin hai. Today, the PM has again proved that these aren't hollow words," she told to news agency ANI.
Women MPs hails PM Modi
BJP MP Diya Kumari also thanked Prime Minister Modi, saying, "Women are celebrating today. We are very happy with the passage of this bill. PM Modi has finally made this dream come true. This piece of legislation was the need of the hour and he (PM Modi) realised it. He spearheaded efforts to have the Bill tabled and passed in all of two days."
Women members from both Houses of Parliament were all smiles as they presented a bouquet to Prime Minister Modi on the historic passage of the Bill in Parliament. Later, both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die.
What Congress MPs said?
Congress MP Joshimani, too, expressed her enthusiasm over the passage of the bill, saying, "We are happy that this important piece of legislation is finally close to seeing the light of day." However, she flagged concerns over the implementation of the bill, saying, "It is sad, however, that the law may not be implemented anytime soon." Another Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan termed the passage of the Bill as historic. "The bill has now been passed by both the Houses. This is a moment to savour for women in our country," she said. She added, however, "We demanded the bill be implemented immediately with a sub-quota for OBC women. The demand was not considered."
Chant of 'Modi Modi'
Following the passage of the bill in Parliament, female lawmakers began chanting "Modi Modi" as they took turns thanking the Prime Minister for the decision to pass the proposed legislation. PT Usha, and Union Ministers Meenakashi Lekhi and Smriti Irani, were all smiles as they presented a bouquet to Prime Minister Modi on the historic passage of the Bill in Parliament.
Reacting to the passage of the Bill, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji said that this is a historic moment for women. "The government received bipartisan support for the Bill in both Houses of Parliament. The significant takeaway for me was that the members set aside their political differences to vote for the bill," she added.
PM Modi thanks MPs
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi also thanked the MPs for supporting the legislation. Unlike the Lok Sabha, where two of the 456 MPs present in the House had voted against the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, all the 214 lawmakers present in the Rajya Sabha voted in its favour on Thursday. The 128th Constitution amendment bill, referred to as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, will now require the approval of a majority of state assemblies. It will be implemented after a delimitation exercise to redraw parliamentary and assembly constituencies based on census which the government has said will be commissioned next year.
(With inputs from ANI)
