Women reservation bill gets passed through Indian Lok Sabha

 

The Central Government presented the first bill, the Women's Reservation Bill, in the new Parliament House on 19 September 2023.  In the lower house of the Parliament, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal presented this bill to provide 33 percent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.  This bill was discussed in the Lok Sabha today i.e. on 20 September 2023.  After this, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha through voting.  Now the question arises whether 181 parliamentary constituencies will be reserved for women candidates in the Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024?

 The Women's Reservation Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on Monday itself.  The Women's Reservation Bill, which increases the participation of women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies, was introduced in Parliament for the first time in the year 1996.  After this, it was also introduced in the years 1998 and 1999, but it did not materialize.  Then in 2008 also the Women's Reservation Bill was introduced.  This time also the bill could not be passed.  Then in 2010, Rajya Sabha passed it as the 108th Amendment Bill.  However, due to opposition from some MPs at that time, this bill could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his last speech in the old Parliament House that so far more than 7,500 public representatives have served in both the houses of the Parliament.  But, the number of women representatives among these has been only 600.  The contribution of women has always helped in enhancing the dignity of the House.  That's when speculations started being made that the Modi government may soon introduce a Women's Reservation Bill to give 33 percent share to women in Parliament.  For the first time on September 12, 1996, the government of the then PM HD Deve Gowda had presented this bill in the Parliament as the 81st Constitutional Amendment Bill.  However, the bill could not be passed then.

.In the Women's Reservation Bill, 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies was proposed.  It was proposed in the bill that the reserved seats should be rotated after every Lok Sabha election.  Reserved seats can be allocated through rotation in different constituencies of the state or union territories.  At present there are more than 15 lakh elected women representatives in Panchayats and Municipalities, which is around 40 percent.  At the same time, the presence of women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is very less.

 Even after the Women's Reservation Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is difficult to implement it in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.  To implement the bill, it is necessary to get the approval of at least 50 percent of the assemblies.  At the same time, delimitation work will also have to be done after 2026.  Even if a law is made, the Women's Reservation Bill will be implemented only after delimitation.  In such a situation, women's reservation can be implemented in the Lok Sabha elections 2029.  Now the question arises that after the law is made, for how long will 33 percent women's reservation remain in force?  Women's reservation will not be applicable in Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils.

 

 When this bill was introduced in 1996, it was clearly written in its proposal that it would be implemented only for 15 years.  After this, a bill will have to be brought again and passed by both the houses of the Parliament.  Now the question arises that if this bill becomes law, then when will its period of 15 years start?  According to law experts, the 15-year period of women's reservation will start only after its implementation in the Lok Sabha.  If it is implemented in 2029, it will remain in force till 2044.  After this the bill will have to be brought to Parliament again and go through the entire process.

After the implementation of women's reservation, based on the number of current MPs in the Lok Sabha, there will be at least 181 women MPs in the lower session of the Parliament.  At present the participation of women MPs in the Lok Sabha is less than 15 percent.  At present there are only 78 women MPs in the Lok Sabha.  If the number of Parliament seats increases after delimitation, the number of women MPs will also increase.  If we talk about states, at present the representation of women in most of the assemblies is less than 15 percent.  At the same time, in many state assemblies the participation of women is less than 10 percent.  Women's participation in the assemblies of only 19 states of the country is less than 10 percent.

 

 SC and ST reservation is applicable in Lok Sabha.  But SC-ST women will not get separate reservation.  Women representatives will get quota in quota.  In simple language, women will get 33 percent reservation only in the seats already reserved for SC-ST category in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.  At present, 47 seats in the Lok Sabha are reserved for ST and 84 seats for SC category.  Based on the current situation of the Parliament, it can be said that after the law is made, 16 seats will be reserved for ST and 28 seats for SC category women.