Special Parliament Session Highlights: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Women’s Reservation Bill with 454 MPs vote in favour of the bill, and two votes against the bill. The Parliament discussed Bill today which seeks to bring in 33 per cent reservation for women in the lower House and all state Legislative Assemblies. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling himself “the chosen one for empowering and strengthening women”. The Women’s Reservation Bill named ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ has been facing stalling and discord for the last 27 years due to a lack of consensus and political will. However, this will be a new bill and not a previous bill that was passed earlier.
Speaking during the Special Session of the Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he supported the Women’s Reservation Bill, however, saying that the Bill was incomplete without the inclusion of OBC quota. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke in the Parliament and appealed to all political parties to support the Bill.
Parliament Special Session Live Updates Day 3: Women’s reservation Bill up for discussion in Lok Sabha. Follow latest updates here
Speaking on the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2023, which seeks to bring in 33 per cent reservation for women in the lower House and all state Legislative Assemblies, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal stated that the Bill was an important step in women’s empowerment and “shows the way to the world”.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday claimed that the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were missing in the Preamble of the Constitution of India in the new copies that were distributed to the MPs on Tuesday as they moved to the new Parliament building.
A political slugfest erupted after the government introduced the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha of the new Parliament building on Tuesday. While the Congress termed it a “jumla” (election gimmick), the BJP hit back and said the grand old party was never serious about providing reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The government introduced the bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reviving the concept of women's reservation pending for 27 years for want of consensus among parties.
The Lok Sabha is all set to discuss the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2023, to bring in 33 per cent reservation for women in the lower House and all state Legislative Assemblies. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling himself “the chosen one for empowering and strengthening women”.
The focus will remain on Parliament today as the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill continues. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, according to sources, is likely to be the Opposition’s lead speaker.
The Opposition has found a common ground to attack the government, stating that the Bill is a “huge betrayal” for women as the implementation date had been kept vague. It also criticised the government for not providing quota for backward classes. This marks a turnaround from the Congress on its earlier position in 2010 when it failed to push the Bill through in the Lok Sabha — it was approved by the Rajya Sabha — because of stiff opposition from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) over their demand for quota within quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities.