Lok Sabha Passes Women’s Reservation Bill With a Huge Majority

Only two MPs voted against Bill

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha passed the Women Reservation Bill today with only two votes against it. The bill seeks to grant 33% of seats to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

A total of 454 MPs voted in favour of the bill, while two MPs, Asaduddin Owaisi and Imtiaz Jaleel, voted against it. The bill will now move to Rajya Sabha.

On Tuesday, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. The bill has been named 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'.

Owaisi opposed the bill, stating it would only benefit "savarna women" and neglect OBC and Muslim women. The bill can only be implemented after the census and delimitation exercise take place.

The Women's Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing special session of Parliament. It was the first bill to be introduced after lawmakers shifted to the new Parliament building. Notably, the proposed law can only be implemented once the 2021 census and delimitation exercise take place.

Earlier, while speaking in Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the census and delimitation exercise will take place, following which the bill will come into force. Shah also said that the next government will conduct the census and the delimitation exercise immediately after the elections. Intervening in the debate on the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, Shah indicated that women's reservation will become a reality after 2029.

It's worth noting that the UPA government, led by Manmohan Singh, introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, and it was passed in 2010. However, it was never taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to introduce three new articles and one new clause in the Constitution. (Agencies)

Also Read;   Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a historic legislation: PM Narendra Modi

Also Watch: