Parliament says ayes to women reservation from future date

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, September 21: With the Rajya Sabha unanimously passing the ‘Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth) Amendment Bill, the women reservation in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies now has the legislative stamp. But the celebrations may be transient, for the bill remains a parliamentary promise to women that from an uncertain future date 33 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies would be reserved for them.

On the fourth day of the special session of parliament, called with an intense accompanying suspense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid to “create history” gained the parliamentary nod. In all, only two MPs of parliament opposed the bill, who came from the ranks of the AIMIM. Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM in the Lok Sabha had reasoned that the bill has no provision to give space to Muslim women.

“With the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament, we usher in an era of stronger representation and empowerment for the women of India. This is not merely a legislation; it is a tribute to the countless women who have made our nation. India has been enriched by their resilience and contributions,” said Modi in a post on X after the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha with 215 MPs voting in favour of the legislative proposal.

The bill also set up the political wrestling in the name of reservation, as the Congress further stepped up demand for quota within quota for OBC. While former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had raised the demand for OBC reservation in the women quota bill, his successor Mallikarjuna Kharge insisted that the provision should be made.

The work on the implementation of women reservation in the elected bodies will begin not before 2026 as delimitation stays frozen until then and by that time the government for reasons not shared with the public hopes that the Census 2021 would have been completed.

The chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party JP Nadda argued in the Rajya Sabha that the identification of the seats to be reserved for the women need delimitation commission, which is a quasi judicial body. Yet, the bill’s passage is historic in the sense that both the Houses of parliament had seen unsavoury scenes in the past when attempts were made push the legislation, in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2008.

Troika of Sharad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav had hemorrhaged the women reservation bill, with copies even torn in the Lok Sabha. Sharad Yadav, now deceased, has claimed that the bill would bring “parkatti mahila (hair-cut women)” in parliament, in his bid to claim that the legislation would be at the cost of the poor and backward women.