Women's Reservation Bill: In a historic move, the Modi government on Tuesday introduced the Women's Reservation Bill but with a new name - 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' and certain changes in the Lok Sabha.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, was listed for introduction in the Lower House through a supplementary list of business.
The constitutional amendment bill, which seeks reservation of one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, saw a life after 13 years. The bill has proposed that the reservation would continue for a period of 15 years and there will be a quota for SC/STs within the reserved seats for women. The bill be named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden speech in the Lok Sabha of the new parliament building.
With several parties pushing for the reservation of women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, the bill is likely to see a smooth passage this time, unlike the earlier instances when several regional parties had opposed it.
Implementation may take some time
The implementation of the bill may still take some time and is unlikely to be in force for the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024 as the reservation will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise is completed.
The reservation will come into effect after a delimitation exercise is undertaken and will continue for 15 years. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise, according to the bill.
Key changes in the bill
- 181 seats in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33% of 84 seats for Scheduled Castes in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33% of 47 seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33% constituencies in all state assemblies will be reserved for women now
- Rotation of seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies to take place after each delimitation exercise.
The government said women participate substantively in panchayats and at municipal bodies, but their representation in state assemblies, Parliament is still limited.
Women bring different perspectives and enrich quality of legislative debates and decision-making, it added.
There have been several efforts to introduce women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies since 1996. The last such attempt was made in 2010, when the Rajya Sabha had passed a Bill for women's reservation, but the same could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.
Data shows that women MPs account for nearly 15 per cent of Lok Sabha strength while their representation is below 10 per cent in many state assemblies.
(With PTI inputs)
