Women reservation bill Highlights: Sonia Gandhi to be Congress main speaker in debate

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party has always supported the women's reservation bill.

"In 2010, the Congress-UPA government got the women's reservation bill passed in the Rajya Sabha. Just as SC-ST class has got a constitutional opportunity in politics, similarly everyone including women of OBC class should get equal opportunity through this bill," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will not only protect the rights of women but will be an instrument for their larger contribution in India’s march to become a developed country.

The Bill for reservation of women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was introduced by Law Minster Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday in the first sitting of the House in the new Parliament building.

Goyal greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the step towards women’s empowerment. (ANI)

Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said unlike the UPA's women's reservation bill that immediately gave women 33 per cent reservation, the NDA's women's reservation will kick-in only after a census and delimitation process.

"At the earliest, this will kick in for the 2029 elections. If it isn't applicable immediately, this is just another headline management stunt by the Modi government. Further, the Bill doesn't account for reservation for women from OBC communities. Without that, it is incomplete in its social justice agenda," Venugopal said on X.

"The government should ensure that along with women's reservation, representation of India's backward communities is also guaranteed," he said.

Terming an "election jumla" and "a huge betrayal of hopes of women," Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had any real intention to prioritise women empowerment, the Women’s Reservation Bill would have been implemented immediately.

"If the PM had any real intention to prioritise women's empowerment, the Women’s Reservation Bill would have been implemented immediately without the ifs and buts and all other conditions. For him and the BJP, this is only an election jumla that delivers nothing concrete," Jairam Ramesh posted on X (Formerly Twitter).

Some of the women achievers were among the special invitees on the occasion of introduction of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, as the bill is officially called. 

Actor Kangana Ranaut said “It is a historic day for the nation and the women of the nation." She thanked PM Narendra Modi for opening up new avenues for women saying “we also see women in more active roles like Army and the Air Force. In fact in my upcoming film, Tejas, I am playing an Air Force pilot as well. So I think this is a new age that we are getting into.”

The women's reservation bill, introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, will have to cross several hurdles before it becomes a reality. They are

• Passing in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

• Early census

•Delimitation exercise

Why?

The provisions in the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill make it clear that the women's reservation will come into effect only after the delimitation exercise or the redrawing of constituencies taking into account the data of the census conducted once the bill becomes a law.

At least 50% of states need to approve the bill

Constitutional experts said after the passage of the Bill by both Houses of Parliament, it will also have to be approved by at least 50 per cent of state assemblies to become a law.

The nod by state assemblies is necessary as it affects the rights of the states.

Sonia Gandhi to be the main speaker of the Congress for debate on women's reservation bill.

After parliamentary proceedings shifted to the new building, the older building was renamed ‘Samvidhan Sadan’, a notification from Lok Sabha Secretariat announced.

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Tuesday said she was disappointed that the bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies does not carve out a quota for women from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The constitutional amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the BJP-led Union government earlier in the day.

“I am happy that the women's reservation bill was introduced, but I am feeling somewhat dejected because it has come without reservation for OBC women. If we do not ensure reservation for OBC women, then their faith in the BJP will be broken," Bharti, herself a prominent OBC leader of the BJP, told PTI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday slammed the opposition, particularly the Congress, for showing only "tokenism" on the Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam and said the party has never been serious about women's reservation in legislative bodies.

He also said the Congress either let legislations lapse or their friendly parties prevented the women reservation bill from being tabled.

The home minister said across the length and breadth of India, people are rejoicing the introduction of the Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament and it shows the unwavering commitment of the Modi government to empower women.

"Sadly, the Opposition is unable to digest this. And, what is more shameful is that except tokenism, the Congress has never been serious about women's reservation. Either they let legislations lapse or their friendly parties prevented the Bill from being tabled. Their double standards will never be hidden, whatever stunts they try to take credit," he wrote on X.

Slamming former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for not being present in the House when the historic Women's Reservation Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that the Gandhi family is only interested in empowering women in their family.

Smriti Irani quotes

"Gandhi Family is only interested in empowering the women in their family. They are not interested in empowering the women in poor or Adivasi or Dalit women, Smriti Irani said while speaking to ANI on Tuesday.

"The women's reservation bill that has been brought in Parliament is a welcome step.

We have been advocates of women empowerment since the beginning and have taken many historic steps in Bihar. From the year 2006, we gave 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and from the year 2007 to municipal bodies.

Since 2006, women are being given 50 per cent reservation in primary teacher employment and from 2016, 35 per cent reservation is being given in all government jobs. Since 2013, 35 per cent reservation is being given to women in Bihar Police also. Today, the participation of women policemen in Bihar Police is the highest in the country.

In Bihar, a minimum of 33 percent seats have been reserved for girl students in the enrollment under Medical and Engineering Universities. Bihar is the first state in the country to do this.

In the year 2006, we started a project for the formation of women self-help groups in the state, which we named “Jeevika”. Later, a livelihood program for women was run on its lines by the then Central Government. So far, 10 lakh 47 thousand self-help groups have been formed in Bihar, in which more than 1 crore 30 lakh women have joined and become Jeevika Didis.

We believe that within the scope of women's reservation in Parliament, provision for reservation should also be made for women from backward and extremely backward classes like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

It has been said in the proposed bill that first there will be a census and then there will be delimitation of constituencies and only after that the provisions of this proposed bill will be implemented. For this, the census work should be completed soon. The census should have been done in the year 2021 itself but it has not been done yet. Along with the census, caste census should also be conducted, only then women will get its true benefits. If caste census had been conducted, the system of reservation for women belonging to backward and extremely backward classes could have been implemented immediately," Bihar CM Nitish wrote on X.

Kangana Ranaut, Esha Gupta , Sapna Chaudhry, Babita Phogat along with Union Minister Anurag Thakur and MP Manoj Tiwari at new Parliament building.

“As we move to a new Parliament, we remember the iconic Parliament that stands not just as a structure, but as a testament to our nation's rich democratic heritage for decades. Every brick echoes the debates, decisions, and dedication of those who shaped India. We will always be inspired by the great men and women who served here and contributed to national progress,” PM Modi wrote on X.

What is more shameful is that except tokenism, Congress has never been serious about women's reservation: Home Minister Amit Shah

PTI

The women's reservation bill, introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, will have to cross several hurdles before it becomes a reality. They are

• Passing in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

• Early census 

•Delimitation exercise

Why?

The provisions in the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill make it clear that the women's reservation will come into effect only after the delimitation exercise or the redrawing of constituencies taking into account the data of the census conducted once the bill becomes a law.

At least 50% of states need to approve the bill

Constitutional experts said after the passage of the Bill by both Houses of Parliament, it will also have to be approved by at least 50 per cent of state assemblies to become a law.

The nod by state assemblies is necessary as it affects the rights of the states.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, was listed for introduction in the Lower House through a supplementary list of business. Following are the major amendments proposed under women's reservation bill:

• By amending Article 239AA of the Constitution, 33 per cent of seats will be reserved for women in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

• Article 330A reservations of seats for SC/ST in the House of the People.

Women's Reservation Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was "inspired" by quotas for the fair sex brought long ago by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his party JD(U) claimed on Tuesday.

PTI

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitutional Amendment bill, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, to reserve one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women earlier in the day.

•1/3rd of seats in Lok Sabha (Lower house of Parliament), Vidhan Sabhas (state legislative assemblies), and Delhi assembly are to be reserved for women.

•1/3rd of the reserved seats to be allocated to those from the ST or SC communities.

• Implementation will be after a delimitation exercise.

• The reservation is proposed to be effective for 15 years.

Women's reservation should be a balance of gender justice and social justice. In this, reservation for backward, Dalit, minority, tribal (PDA) women should be clear in definite percentage form.

“They don't give us credit but I want to bring to their notice that the Women Reservation Bill was already passed in 2010 but it was stopped”, LoP Mallikarjun Kharge said during his speech in the Rajya Sabha at the new Parliament building.

Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha adjourned to convene again tomorrow at 11am.

In the first speech in the first session in the new Parliament building, PM Modi said that the women's reservation bill was given approval in the Cabinet meeting on Monday, and asserted that this will strengthen democracy.

"For many years, there have been several debates and controversies around women's reservation. On women's reservation, there have been many efforts earlier also in Parliament. In 1996, the first bill related to this was introduced. During Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, many times Women's Reservation Bill was brought but numbers could not be mustered for it and the dream was left unfulfilled," Modi said.

PTI

As PM Modi ends his Rajya Sabha speech, Rajya Sabha Chairman allows LoP Kharge to speak.

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