The central government is preparing to implement 33% reservation for women before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. For this, two bills can be brought in the current session of Parliament. Through these bills, the existing conditions for implementing women’s reservation will be changed. With this the number of members in the Lok Sabha may increase to 816. The number of seats reserved for women MPs will increase to 273. Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with leaders of NDA and non-Congress opposition parties on Monday to reach a consensus on this. If consensus is reached, the bills can be introduced this week. In fact, in 2023, the Women’s Reservation Act was passed as the 106th amendment of the Constitution. Under this, women’s reservation is to be implemented after the new census. Now the government proposes that instead of waiting for the new census, delimitation should be done on the basis of 2011 census data only. With this, the process will be completed on time and reservation can be implemented. Two bills will be brought, including constitutional amendment. The government will bring two bills for this change. Through one bill, the Nari Shakti Vandan Act will be amended, while the other will be related to changes in the limitation law. To pass it, two-thirds majority in Parliament will be required. For this reason the government is busy gathering support from the opposition. Home Minister Amit Shah has held meetings with many leaders for this. These included leaders of YSR Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP (SP), RJD and AIMIM. Talks have also been held with BJD and Shiv Shiv Sena (UBT), while discussions are pending with Congress. If consensus is reached, the bills can be presented in Parliament this week. There can be 816 seats in the Lok Sabha, according to the reservation proposal for 273 women, the total seats in the Lok Sabha can be increased from 543 to 816. After this, about 273 seats will be reserved for women. The reservation structure will be such that SC and ST category women will get a share within their quota. Separate provision for OBC women is not currently included. On the same formula, there is a plan to increase seats in the state assemblies and implement reservation for women, so that the structure remains the same in the entire country. The law was passed in 2023, not yet implemented. The Women’s Reservation Act was passed in 2023 as the 106th amendment to the Constitution. President Draupadi Murmu has approved this. This bill was passed almost unanimously in the Lok Sabha and unanimously in the Rajya Sabha. However, this law has not yet come into force. The date of its implementation will be decided by the Central Government through notification and Parliament can amend it if necessary. Timeline of demand for political reservation for women 1931: The issue of reservation for women in politics was discussed during the Indian National Movement. In this, leaders like Begum Shah Nawaz and Sarojini Naidu stressed on the demand for equal political status for women instead of giving preference to men. The issue of women’s reservation was also discussed in the debates of the Constituent Assembly. Then it was rejected saying that in democracy all groups will automatically get representation. 1947: Freedom fighter Renuka Ray hoped that women’s rights and freedoms would be guaranteed after the people who fought for India’s independence came to power. However, this expectation was not fulfilled and women’s political representation remained limited. 1971: The Committee on the Status of Women in India was formed, which highlighted the declining political representation of women. Although many members of the committee opposed reservation for women in legislative bodies, they supported reservation for women in local bodies. 1974: A committee on the status of women submitted a report to the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare to increase the representation of women. In this report, it was recommended to reserve seats for women in Panchayats and municipal bodies. 1988: The National Perspective Plan for Women recommended reservation for women from Panchayat level to Parliament. It laid the foundation for the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments mandating one-third reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies in all states. 1993: In the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, one-third seats were reserved for women in Panchayats and municipal bodies. Several states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Kerala, have implemented 50% reservation for women in local bodies. 1996: HD Deve Gowda’s government introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament as the 81st Constitutional Amendment Bill. Soon after, his government was reduced to a minority and the 11th Lok Sabha was dissolved 1998: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government re-introduced the bill in the 12th Lok Sabha as the 84th Constitutional Amendment Bill. In protest against this, an RJD MP tore the bill. The bill again lapsed as the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved with the Vajpayee government in minority. 1999: The NDA government once again introduced the bill in the 13th Lok Sabha, but the government again failed to gather consensus on the issue. The NDA government brought the bill in the Lok Sabha twice in 2002 and 2003, but it could not be passed even after the Congress and Left parties assured support. 2004: After coming to power, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government announced its intention to pass the bill as part of its promise in the Common Minimum Program (CMP). 2008: The Manmohan Singh government introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha and on May 9, 2008, it was referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice. 2009: The standing committee submitted its report and the bill was introduced in both houses of Parliament amid opposition from the Samajwadi Party, JDU and RJD. 2010: Union Cabinet approves Women’s Reservation Bill. The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, but voting was postponed after threats from SP and RJD to withdraw support to the UPA government. On March 9, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha by 186 votes against 1. However, despite having 262 seats in the Lok Sabha, the Manmohan Singh government could not get the bill passed. 2014 and 2019: BJP promised 33% reservation for women in its election manifestos, but made no concrete progress on this front.
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2029 चुनाव से पहले लागू होगा 33% महिला आरक्षण: लोकसभा सीटें बढ़कर 816 होंगी, महिला सांसदों की संख्या 273 तक पहुंचेगी
