Women's Reservation Bill passed in Lok Sabha with 454-2 majority

The bill was tabled n the new Parliament building

The Women's Reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve 33 percent seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, has cleared the first hurdle, as the Parliament's lower house passed the legislation with a brute majority of 454 votes.

After the bill's passage, voting took place on several of its clauses, as well as the amendments proposed by an Opposition lawmaker. A total of 453 MPs voted in favor of it again, while two MPs in the House voted against it.

The bill would next be tabled before the Rajya Sabha, whose assent is necessary before it is sent for the President's approval.

The Bill suggests implementing a 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, encompassing the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

This reservation would also apply to seats reserved for SC and ST communities. The Bill also recommends maintaining this reservation for a duration of 15 years, with seats designated for women subject to rotation after each delimitation exercise.

The current Lok Sabha comprises a total of 542 members, with 78 (14.39 percent) being female representatives. The government's response to Parliamentary question in 2022 mentioned that the average number of women MLAs in State Assemblies across the country is merely 8 percent.

However, with the implementation of the bill, there will be an increase in the representation of female members in both the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Earlier, during his speech on the bill, Lok Sabha MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his support. However, he mentioned that the measure was incomplete due to the absence of a quota for Other Backward Classes.

"The Women's Reservation Bill is a big step and I am sure everybody, the treasury benches and the Opposition in this room agrees that this is a very important step for the women of our country. There is one thing, in my view, that makes this bill incomplete. I would like to have seen OBC reservation included into this bill," said Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi also raised the demand for a caste census, emphasising that it is the only way to accurately ascertain the population of Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes.

"Implement this bill. There's no requirement for delimitation and a census.  Provide a 33 percent reservation for women," he added.

Many opposition leaders also accused the Centre of introducing this bill with the aim of winning the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. They claimed that the government kept the bill under wraps and convened a special session of Parliament without consulting them or engaging in any discussion with them.

Setting aside concerns about potential delays in implementing the Women's Reservation Bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured the Lok Sabha that the upcoming government would promptly initiate  the census and delimitation exercises after the elections.

He said that this commitment is poised to pave the way for the realisation of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Taking a swipe at Opposition leaders, Shah said, "For some parties, women empowerment can be a political agenda and a political tool to win elections, but for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi it is not a political issue."

Shah also raised questions about the Opposition's delay in passing the bill, which has been under discussion since the time of the UPA government and was initially presented in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

The bill was passed  during the third day of the Parliament's special five-day session.