Lok Sabha Passes Women’s Reservation Bill

The Lok Sabha has finally approved the women’s reservation bill with unanimous support after a long wait of 27 years. In India, gender equality has never been more important than it is now. By amending the constitution, the bill will grant women a third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. It is a massive step in the direction of giving women more influence and assuring their representation in politics. All individuals who have persistently fought for women’s rights and equal opportunity are being honoured at this time.

In the remaining two days of the special meeting in the parliament, the bill is now scheduled to be debated in the Rajya Sabha. It might also need the consent of half of the states. It has been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “ Historic Legislation” that will genuinely empower women and increase their participation in politics. He expressed his sincere gratitude to the Lok Sabha members on X (Twitter). 

The Two Refusal

1.  454 Lok Sabha members approved the constitution ( one hundred and twenty-eighth) bill 2023. 

2.  The “two-thirds majority members present and voting” condition was quickly achieved.

3.  Asaduddin Owaisi and Syed Imtiyaz Jaleel were the only two members to oppose the bill.

4.  Casting votes took concerning about two hours.

5.  Members cast their votes manually using paper ballots. 

6.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance and the votes were counted. 

War for Credits

Members of the Treasury and Opposition benches, with the Congress leading the effort, engaged in a heated eight-hour argument about who should receive credit for the Historic Bill. The addition of a separate quota for women from other backward classes (OBCs) was also a title of dispute. Amit Shah, the Home Minister, reassured the House that any flaws would be fixed going forward and stressed that support for the Bill would ensure reservation.

Sonia Gandhi’s Demand  

The Congress, on the other hand, reversed itself from its stance in 2010. Speaking as the first speaker during the debate, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi called for a separate quota under the quota for Other Backward Classes and stressed the need to implement the Bill soon. 

“It is the demand of the Congress to implement the Bill immediately… But along with that, provision should be made for reservation for SC, ST, and OBC women,” she said.

Credentials 

The Home Minister truly suggested a compelling case against a different share for OCBCs. He brought up that the BJP has the largest number of OBC legislators, including State Leader Modi himself. Mr Shah shared some noteworthy details, referencing that 85 BJP MPs, which is 29% of the aggregate, are from the OBC people group, and 29 Clergymen are from reserve networks. 

Political Reservation

Mr Shah underscored the significance of permitting a semi-legal body like the Delimitation Commission to choose, after an open meeting, which seats ought to be saved. He brought up a provocative issue, inquiring as to whether seats like Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad or 

Mr. Owaisi’s Hyderabad would be saved, it would be viewed as a “ political reservation”.

The Voting Process

Nearly 60 members took part in the voting process and that went more than eight hours long. In that 27 are women MPs, and they can’t conduct this process using electronic devices it was not possible as some political parties have not yet informed the  Lok Sabha secretariat about the division number or the separate seats allotted for the individuals.