On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha unanimously approved the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill of 2023, commonly known as the Women's Reservation Bill. This significant legislation allocates one-third of the seats in both the national parliament and State legislative assemblies for women.
Prior to its unanimous passage by 214 members present and voting in the upper house, the Bill underwent extensive deliberations, spanning nearly ten hours. It was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by Union Minister of State for Law & Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The Lok Sabha subsequently passed the Bill on Wednesday with an overwhelming majority, with 452 members in favor and only two opposed. Notably, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MPs Asaduddin Owaisi and Imtiaz Jaleel were among those who voiced their opposition.
Owaisi raised concerns that the Bill seemed primarily geared towards benefiting women from the savarna community, and he questioned why women from Muslim backgrounds and other backward classes (OBCs) were not accorded a similar quota, akin to the one already provided for women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
In the Rajya Sabha, a total of 132 MPs actively participated in the discussion on the Bill in both houses. Notably, the legislation specifies that the reservation for women will be implemented after a delimitation exercise, following the first census conducted after the enactment of the Act.
The decennial census, originally scheduled for 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now expected to occur in 2024. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda emphasized that both the census and delimitation exercises were crucial in determining which seats would be reserved for women.
He stated, "There's a constitutional process to follow. We are committed to providing women with reservations, but the decision on which seats to reserve cannot be made by the government alone. A quasi-judicial body is responsible for this determination through nomination. If the government itself decides to reserve seats, it could raise concerns. The process involves two key steps: the census and a public hearing through the quasi-judicial authority to identify the seats to be reserved."
The Bill's statement of objectives and reasons underscores the vital role of women, who comprise half of the nation's population, in realizing India's aspirations of becoming a developed nation by 2047. It highlights that despite numerous initiatives to empower women, true empowerment necessitates their greater involvement in decision-making processes, as their diverse perspectives enrich the quality of legislative debates and decision-making.
Click Here to: Download/View Related File
TAGS: Rajya Sabha Women's Reservation Bill One-Third Seats Parliament State Legislative Assemblies Passage Deliberations Opposition Census Delimitation Empowerment.
