A landmark bill to ensure reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies has got the parliament’s approval with Rajya Sabha passing it unanimously on Thursday. As many as 215 MPs voted in favour of the bill while zero members voted against it.
The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on Wednesdayh by a two-thirds majority. It will now require the approval of a majority of the state assemblies. The law will, however, be implemented only after a delimitation exercise based on the Census data.
“A defining moment in our nation’s democratic journey! Congratulations to 140 crore Indians,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X soon after the passage of the bill. He thanked all the MPs in the upper house who voted in favour of the bill.
Named as Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the bill seeks reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. It mandates that one third of the total seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be allocated for women from those groups. The reservation of seats for women will cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Amendment Act.
Modi said with the passage of the bill in Parliament, we usher in an era of stronger representation and empowerment for the women of India. “This is not merely a legislation; it is a tribute to the countless women who have made our nation. India has been enriched by their resilience and contributions,” he said.
“As we celebrate today, we are reminded of the strength, courage, and indomitable spirit of all the women of our nation. This historic step is a commitment to ensuring their voices are heard even more effectively,” he added.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government convened the special session to give a good start to the new building of Parliament by pushing one of the best bills. She also asserted that the BJP does not play politics in matters related to women.
“We have come into a new complex, new building for Parliament, new India. We would like this Parliament to deal with one of the best bills that it can deal with,” she said.
The bill was introduced in the upper house by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal who said it is part of a series of measures the government has taken for the empowerment of women. Meghwal said the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be both horizontal and vertical, thereby applying to the SC-ST category as well.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Wednesday with 454 MPS voting in favour of it. Two AIMIM members voted against the bill.
This was the seventh attempt since 1996 to get the women’s reservation bill passed. Women presently make up for nearly half of India’s 95 crore registered voters but comprise only 15 per cent of lawmakers in Parliament and 10 per cent in the state assemblies.
