Women's Reservation Bill: A Milestone in Indian politics | Fusion - WeRIndia

In a historic move, the Indian government has introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill, aiming to secure a 33% quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The bill, presented as the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, marks a significant stride towards gender equality in Indian politics.

Transitioning to details, the bill, officially named the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, proposes to reserve one-third of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women.

Arjun Ram Meghwal, while addressing the Lok Sabha, highlighted that the bill, once enacted, would elevate the number of women members in Lok Sabha from the current 82 to an impressive 181.

Nonetheless, the bill will only come into effect following the next delimitation exercise.

The existing constituency delineation is based on the 2001 census, with the next delimitation scheduled after 2026, relying on the first census conducted post-2026.

The delimitation process is administered by the Delimitation Commission, responsible for redrawing assembly and Lok Sabha constituency boundaries based on recent census data.

During this process, the representation from each state remains unaltered, but the number of seats allocated for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) may change in line with the updated census figures.

The House will engage in discussions regarding the bill’s passage on September 20, while the bill is set to be considered in the Rajya Sabha on September 21, as per sources.

Here are key insights into the Women’s Reservation Bill:

• The bill aims to reserve one-third of Lok Sabha seats for women.
• Its provisions extend to the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• The bill mandates one-third of seats reserved for SCs in the Delhi Assembly for women.
• This amendment will apply to the legislative assemblies of all Indian states.
• Seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha, under this amendment, also include women from SC and ST.
• Implementation for State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly will follow after a delimitation exercise.
• The bill ensures that two women MPs cannot contest for a single seat.
• It excludes women from the OBC category from these reservations.

The Women’s Reservation Bill is a watershed moment in Indian politics, striving to provide women with an equitable platform in the highest legislative bodies.

While its implementation awaits the next delimitation exercise, its potential impact on gender representation in Indian politics is both significant and promising.

Image Credit: Narendra Modi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Source: YouTube at 1:24 min

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Parliament_Building.jpg