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New Delhi: In a historic move, the Narendra Modi-led government introduced in Parliament the Constitutional Amendment Bill, known as the “Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam” or the Women’s Reservation Bill, on Tuesday 19 September 2023.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1704079999475589477?s=20

This ground breaking legislation aims to secure a substantial 33% reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha and all state Legislative Assemblies.

Key Highlights:

  1. Census-Based Reservation: The allocation of reserved seats will be determined after the completion of a delimitation exercise, following the first Census conducted post the Bill’s enactment. This legislation mandates a 15-year period of women’s reservation from the Act’s commencement, with provisions for Parliament to extend it further.
  2. Inclusive Approach: The Bill proposes reserving one-third of seats originally allocated for SC/ST representatives and strives to reserve, to the greatest extent possible, one-third of seats in the general category for women.
  3. Seat Rotation: Seats allocated for women will undergo rotation only after each subsequent delimitation exercise, subject to parliamentary law as outlined in the Bill.
  4. Impact: If passed, this Bill will significantly boost the representation of women in the Lok Sabha, increasing the number of women MPs from the current 82 to 181 out of the total 543 seats.
  5. Amendments: The proposed Bill inserts Clause (1) in Article 330 A to enforce the reservation of seats for women. It further specifies that one-third of seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and 33% of seats filled through direct elections should be reserved for women.
  6. Extends to Legislative Assemblies: The Bill extends the reservation to Legislative Assemblies and calls for similar reservations within SC/ST seats and those directly elected.
  7. Delhi Assembly: For the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Bill introduces the reservation of seats for women, as well as within SC/ST-designated seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the government’s intent to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill as a tribute to women’s power. However, discussions in the House led to a dispute regarding similar bills in the past.

In the backdrop, the Women’s Reservation Bill marks a significant stride towards gender parity in Indian politics, with the potential to reshape legislative representation. Its fate now rests in the hands of lawmakers as they prepare to deliberate on this transformative legislation.