In a historic move, the Narendra Modi government decided to act on a long pending demand for granting women's reservation in legislative bodies.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha to provide one third of seats in legislative bodies, including in Parliament and state legislatures.
Following are the highlights of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023
Whats in the Bill
* One-third of seats shall be reserved for women in Legislative Assemblies, including in Delhi
* One-third of seats shall be reserved for women in the House of People (Lok Sabha)
* One-third of seats earmarked for SCs and STs will be reserved for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies
* Quota will come into being only after an exercise of delimitation after the relevant figures of the first Census taken after the new quota law comes into effect
* Seats reserved for women shall continue till such date as the Parliament may by law determine
* Rotation of seats reserved for women shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation as Parliament may by law determine
Statement of Objects and Reasons
* While women participate substantively in the Panchayat Raj institutions and municipal bodies, their representation in the state legislatures as well as in Parliament is still limited
* True empowerment of women will require greater participation of women in the decision making process as they bring different perspectives and enrich the quality of legislative debates and decision making
* For a Bill to amend the Constitution to be considered as passed in a House, it requires at least half of the MPs to be present and voting in the House. Of this, two-third of the MPs should vote in favour* After both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passes the Bill, at least half of the state Assemblies need to clear the Bill
* Following this, the President has to give her assent and notified
When will the Bill come into being
* Not immediately, likely by 2029
* Depends on the government completes the census exercise
* After the Census is done, Delimitation of seats to be conducted
The Bill has been criticised for
* No mention of reservation for women in Rajya Sabha or Legislative Councils
* No quota within quota for OBCs
