THIRD READING REPORT INDIA
Image credits: Government of India Press Bureau.
Third Reading Report by Dr Jayadev Sahu, Director (Retd.), Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India.
WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL: INDIA PARLIAMENT AIMS TO BREAK THE BARRIER ON WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION
The Parliament of India, in its short Session convened on 18 September 2023, passed the much-awaited Constitution Amendment Bill to provide reserved seats for women in elected legislative bodies in India. The India Government led by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, introduced the Bill in order to facilitate the greater participation of women as public representatives in national and State legislative bodies. The Minister of State of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty eighth Constitution Amendment) Bill, 2023 on 19 September 2023. The Bill was discussed the next day in the Parliament of India and as required by the Constitution of India, it was passed by a half of the total Members of the Lok Sabha and a majority of two thirds of the Members present and voting. Two Members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who were demanding a quota for Muslim women, voted against the Bill. The Bill, as passed by Lok Sabha, was passed by Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on 21 September 2023 in the same manner as provided in the Constitution. This Bill was passed 27 years after the first introduction of such a Bill in the Lok Sabha way back in 1996. The ruling BJP Government, in its 2019 election manifesto, had committed to ensuring
33% reservation of seats for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies through a constitutional amendment. This was the first legislative agenda of the Indian Government in the new Parliament House building, constructed within the precincts of the Parliament Estate. Parliament had shifted its business from the colonial era building to the new Parliament building on 19 September 2023. The old Parliament House as announced by the Lok Sabha Speaker henceforth will be known as Sambidhan Sadan (Constitution House).
Bill provisions and approval
The 128th Constitution Amendment Bill provides for the reservation of, as near as possible, one third of the total seats for women in the House of the People (Lok Sabha), the Legislative Assembly of every State in India and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It also provides that one-third of seats reserved for women shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The Bill further provides that the provision regarding the reservation for women shall come into effect only after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after this Amendment Act have been published. The Act shall cease to have effect on the expiration of 15 years from its commencement and seats reserved for women will be rotated after each
subsequent delimitation exercise as the Parliament may determine by law. As many as 62 Members of Parliament including six Ministers and 32 women Members participated in the Lok Sabha debate. There was overwhelming support for the Bill despite some doubt about the intention of the Government in bringing the Bill before the 2024 general elections to take advantage of its political mileage. Opposition Members asked for the immediate implementation of the Bill and not to link it to the delimitation of constituencies, as any further delay would be a gross injustice to Indian women. Many Members demanded a caste census and reservation for women belonging the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They also strongly argued for reserving seats for women belonging to OBCs. Some Members suggested that women’s seat reservation should also be introduced in the Rajya Sabha and in State Legislative Councils as well. There was also a demand for including minorities in the ambit of reservation. Intervening in the debate, the Home Affairs Minister, Shri Amit Shah said that women’s empowerment was not a political issue for the BJP rather a work culture. The Prime Minister and the BJP Party were committed to women’s empowerment and their welfare throughout their political journey. He urged MPs of all parties to come together to make a new beginning by unanimously approving this Constitution Amendment Bill. After the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023, the Prime Minister complimented all the Members of House and the people outside for the smooth sailing of the Bill. He said it was a golden moment in India’s parliamentary journey and once it is passed by the Rajya Sabha and becomes an Act, it will build up renewed confidence among women, enabling the country to scale new heights. The Rajya Sabha discussed the Bill on 21 September 2023 and 72 MPs including the Prime Minister and Law Minister participated in the discussion. The Prime Minister requested the Rajya Sabha Members pass the Bill unanimously and give the country a new sense of confidence. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha by a majority of the total membership of the House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the
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