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‘Insult to Nari Shakti’: Amit Shah fumes at opposition as women's reservation amendment fails in Lok Sabha
Amit Shah said Congress and allies blocked the passage of the essential constitutional amendment for the law granting 33% reservation for women in legislatures.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday blamed the opposition for the failure of the constitutional amendment to the women's quota in the legislature, calling it an “insult to the Nari Shakti”.
Shah said that the Congress and its allies blocked the passage of the essential constitutional amendment for the law granting 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and termed it “beyond imagination and reprehensible”.
“Today, a very strange scene unfolded in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, TMC, DMK, and Samajwadi Party did not allow the passage of the essential Constitution Amendment Bill for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Rejecting the bill that would grant 33% reservation to women, celebrating it, and raising victory cries over it is truly reprehensible and beyond imagination,” Shah wrote on X.
“Now, the women of the country will not get the 33% reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, which was their right. The Congress and its allies have done this not for the first time, but repeatedly. Their mindset is neither in the interest of women nor of the country,” he added.
Amit Shah called it an “insult to Nari Shakti” and warned the opposition that it will not stop here but “travel far and wide.”
“The opposition will have to face the 'wrath of women' not only in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but at every level, in every election, and at every place,” he said.
Why the amendment failed
The 131st constitutional amendment regarding the women's quota in Parliament seats fell flat in the Lok Sabha, despite the bill receiving more yes votes than no.
The constitutional amendment bills require a simple majority of the total members of the House, but also need a special two-thirds majority of the total members present and voting. While the women's quota bill met the first criterion, it failed the second.
The proposed legislation received 298 votes in favour and 230 against. This means that while the bill enjoyed a simple majority, it did not command the two-thirds of yes votes required to pass as a constitutional amendment. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls. Seats were also to be increased in states and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Two other bills, including one for delimitation and increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, were not put to a vote after the first one lost, with the Centre saying they were "intrinsically linked" to the legislation related to women's reservation.
The opposition charge
Opposition parties strongly objected to the Delimitation Bill and said the government should implement women's reservation immediately in the existing strength of the Lok Sabha. They expressed their full support for women's reservation.
In his speech during the debate, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the government over the Delimitation Bill and said it has "nothing to do with the empowerment of women" and is an "attempt to change the electoral map of India. Nearly 130 members took part in the debate.
