The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on the second day of the special session of the parliament introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill which allows for 33 per cent or 181 of the 543 seats for women in the Lok Sabha. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the bill in the parliament

The catch, however, is that the law—if enacted—will come into force only after the census data is out and the delimitation process is completed. The census which was expected to take place in 2021 has been delayed due to COVID-19.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth) Amendment Bill, 2023 also called ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, revives the almost decades-long issue that has remained dormant and pending for lack of consensus from all political parties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the moment as “historic” when he introduced the bill in the new parliament building. “We have discussed the women's Reservation Bill for several years. But finally, yesterday in a cabinet meeting, our government approved the bill and it will be introduced today, Modi said addressing the house.

"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 added. 

Several governments since 1996 have attempted to introduce and pass the bill to no effect. The last such attempt was made in 2010, when the Congress-led UPA government introduced and passed the bill in the Rajya Sabha, however failed to muster support in the Lok Sabha.

The bill, which envisions a 1/3rd quota for women in the parliament, state assemblies, and the Delhi legislative Assembly, is the first to be introduced and discussed in the new parliament building. According to the statement of objects and reasons in the bill, the nation is on its journey into ‘Amrit Kaal’ with a goal of becoming ‘Vikasit Bharat’ by 2047 and the same can happen only with the contribution from all sections of the society.

“The role of women, constituting half of the population, is extremely important in the realization of this goal,” it said.

However, even as the BJP government claimed credit for spearheading women’s quota, the Congress government was quick to remind the ruling party of its 2010 attempt and that the bill is still alive since it was passed by the Rajya Sabha. “The bill is ours. Apna hai,” senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi told reporters this morning.

Since it’s a constitutional amendment, the bill requires at least 2/3rd votes of the total members in the parliament and a majority of not less than 2/3rd of the present and voting members of that House. The bill further needs to be ratified by legislation of at least 50 percent of all states.

What does the Women’s Reservation Bill say?

The introduction of the bill is significant in the run-up to general elections slated for next year. However, the bill—if it becomes law—is unlikely to come into effect before 2026 at least.

The bill will come into effect after the delimitation exercise is undertaken and the first census following that. The bill will remain in effect for 15 years and the reserved seats for women will be distributed in rotation after every delimitation exercise.

Furthermore, 1/3rd of the seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes will be reserved for women belonging to these communities.

The bill acknowledged that though women’s participation in law-making efforts at the panchayat and rural level was high, the same was absent in the parliament.