Nari Shakti vandan adhiniyam : Women's Reservation Bill Passes In Lok Sabha

Dr. Mathew Joys, Las Vegas

Justice for Indian women is elevated and recognized. The Women's Reservation Bill, a significant Constitutional Amendment Bill that provides 33% reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, passes in Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha manually voted, 454 MPs voted in favor of the bill, and two MPs voted against it. ( except for raising the salaries and privileges of MPs, there always will be opposition to everything. Fortunately, only two were against this bill!).

It was introduced in the Lok Sabha yesterday during the ongoing special session of Parliament.

Taking forward the resolution of women-led development, our government today passed a prominent Constitutional Amendment Bill. The purpose of this Bill is to expand the participation of women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas."

The salient features of this Bill are as follows:

• The Women's Reservation Bill is named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the first bill tabled in the new Parliament building.
• The bill has proposed that the reservation would continue for 15 years and that there would be a quota for SCs and STs within the reserved seats for women.
• The reservation will come into effect after a delimitation exercise and will continue for 15 years. 
• As per existing law, the next delimitation exercise can only be conducted after the first census to be taken post-2026, which means that the bill cannot become law until at least 2027. Some reports have suggested that the women's quota may be implemented by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
• Once the bill becomes an Act, of the total seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of Assembly, 33% will be set aside for women belonging to these communities.
• The number of women members in the Lok Sabha will rise to 181 from 82 currently once the women's reservation bill comes into force, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said.
• Rotation of seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha, legislative assemblies, and the assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi would take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation, to be determined by the parliament, according to the bill.

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill noted that the true empowerment of women will require greater in the decision-making process.

"The women of India will now have a role to play in policymaking," says Home Minister Amit Shah on the Women's Reservation Bill. Of course, it is bringing a drastic progress in the women empowerment in India.