Women’s Quota Bill cleared in Rajya Sabha as all members voted in support
Context
The Rajya Sabha passed the women’s reservation bill on Thursday with all members voting in favour. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the public will feel more confident due to the unanimous vote.
Unanimous support
The Rajya Sabha passed the Women’s Reservation Bill with a unanimous vote, showing that MPs from all political parties strongly supported it. This demonstrates widespread agreement on the value of women’s presence in legislative bodies, which makes it an important accomplishment in Indian politics.
What were the features of the bill passed?
- Reservation for women: The Bill ensures that women will hold, as nearly as possible, one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha, state legislatures, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly. This will likewise hold for the SC and ST seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.
- Beginning of reservation: The reservation will go into effect after the results of the census are taken. Delimitation will be done to reserve seats for women based on the census. For 15 years, the reservation will be available. But it will remain until the period specified by a statute passed by Parliament.
- Seat rotation: Following each delimitation, seats designated for women will be rotated as determined by the law.
Lok Sabha Approval:
The measure had already been adopted by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) the day before it was passed in the Rajya Sabha. This emphasizes how bicameral the Indian legislative system is.
Concerns raised by the Opposition:
During the discussion, the Opposition voiced several issues, including:
- They questioned the government’s decision to wait nine and a half years to introduce this law, bringing attention to the drawn-out parliamentary process.
- Members of the opposition expressed concern over the lack of specific reservations within the 33% reservation for women for women from Other Backward Classes (OBC).
- The bill’s name, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was challenged by the opposition, who said that it should be viewed as a constitutional right rather than a divine favour.
Conclusion
Overall, the unanimous passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha marks a significant step toward enhancing gender diversity and representation in India’s legislative bodies, though it also sparked debates and discussions on various aspects of the bill during the proceedings.
