The BJP government tabled the Women’s Reservation Bill as the first order of business in the new Parliament House on September 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Bill a historic decision and said that he had been chosen by god for the noble task of giving rights to women. The bill was passed in Rajya Sabha unanimously on September 21, a day after it received near-unanimous approval in the Lok Sabha
First introduced in 1996 in the Lok Sabha by the H.D. Deve Gowda-led United Front government, the Bill did not get the approval of the House. It was reintroduced many times subsequently but failed to pass muster and lapsed with the dissolution of Houses.
As per the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2023, or the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, a third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies is proposed to be reserved for women. However, the amendment to the Constitution comes with a caveat that it can be implemented only after a delimitation exercise — scheduled to be held in 2026 — has been completed, using data from the latest Census conducted after the passage of the Bill. This effectively pushes the earliest year of implementation to the 2029 general election.
