Women’s reservation Bill gets Parliament seal

Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned sine die, ending the special session of Parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to the Upper House before the voting process got underway at night, thanked all members for their support to the Bill.

In a post on X, Modi said, “A defining moment in our nation’s democratic journey! Congratulations to 140 crore Indians. I thank all the Rajya Sabha MPs who voted for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Such unanimous support is indeed gladdening.”

(Express photo by Renuka Puri)

“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. As we celebrate today, we are reminded of the strength, courage, and indomitable spirit of all the women of our nation. This historic step is a commitment to ensuring their voices are heard even more effectively,” he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, hailing the passage of the Bill said, “Where there is a will, there is a way. A historic milestone was achieved today on the path of equitable governance.”

By fulfilling a long-pending demand, Shah said, Prime Minister Modi has sent a powerful message of gender equality and inclusive governance across the world. “My heartfelt gratitude to Modi Ji and congratulations to every citizen,” he said.

Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal wondered why the Congress had suddenly developed love for the OBC, and accused the party of shelving reservation for the community.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjuna Kharge, while extending support to the women’s reservation Bill, had sought to know by which year the government would implement reservation for women and whether OBCs would be added to it.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “It is important we build consensus and prepare for economic and social empowerment of women.”

She sought to address Opposition criticism of the government bringing the Bill after nine years, saying it had implemented several schemes for the socio-economic empowerment of women since 2014.

“Schemes like more than 9-crore gas connections under Ujjwala, 11.72-crore toilets, the Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao Yojana that brought a fair gender balance, increase in paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks and 9.82 crore paid tap connections were provided,” she said.

She said reservation for women constables was provided in Central Armed Police Forces, apart from opening the doors of the National Defence Academy and Sainik Schools for women.

Sitharaman also linked the Article 370 move and making instant triple talaq a penal offence to women empowerment. “Article 370 did not allow women who married outside the state (Jammu and Kashmir) to inherit property. Instant triple talaq is not there in many Muslim-dominated countries but it was here for so long. We do not believe in appeasement but justice for women is important for us.”

She said it was not possible to provide reservation in Rajya Sabha as the House did not have direct elections.

She said the BJP had been consistent in its support of the Bill, and recalled Arun Jaitley’s passionate support for a similar Bill in the Upper House in 2010.

Addressing the question on why a special session was called for passage of the Bill, Sitharaman said the government wanted to start business in the new building with this important legislation, and thanked members across parties for their support.

On the question of why delimitation will have to wait until 2026, she said that the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, brought during the Emergency, had frozen the date until 2000, and it was again frozen until 2026 in 2002. She said that as per Article 82, seats have to be readjusted after each Census not just in Lok Sabha but within states too.

On Congress member K C Venugopal’s criticism that senior BJP leaders had voted against the Constitutional Amendment of 1989 to provide women’s quota in local bodies, Sitharaman said that many regional leaders, including M Karunanidhi, Jyoti Basu and N T Rama Rao, had also opposed the move as one that could deny the states their powers.

Earlier, BJP president and Rajya Sabha member J P Nadda targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for demanding OBC reservation within the women’s quota – Gandhi had said in Lok Sabha that there were only three Secretaries from the OBC community in the government out of 90 Secretaries – and said, “How many Secretaries were OBCs from 2004 to 2014? A leader will have to be a leader; a tutor will not work.”

He underlined that the BJP was the only party to give the country an OBC Prime Minister. “The first OBC Prime Minister for India was given by the BJP and NDA, and that is Narendra Modi. They talk about OBC. Out of 303 BJP MPs, 85 are OBC, which makes it 29 per cent. Out of 1358 MLAs, 27 per cent are OBCs. Out of 163 MLCs, 40 per cent are OBCs. We have more OBC MPs than the total number of Congress MPs in Lok Sabha,” he said.

Nadda’s remarks had the Janata Dal (Secular) protesting, and he quickly responded by saying, “This is about the Congress party – not about the Janata Dal (Secular). Deve Gowda hamare hi hain (Deve Gowda is ours).”

“We all entered the new Parliament building on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, and the women’s reservation Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha. I am confident that without obstruction, unanimously, the Bill will be passed here,” Nadda said, adding that while the issue had been on hold for decades, it was Prime Minister Modi who had brought it to a decisive conclusion.

“In India’s traditions, women have always held an elevated position. Naari ko hum shakti ke roop mein dekhte hain (we see women as Shakti/Goddess of power). She has always held an important position economically as well. When you look at our past, and you see the Harappan statue of a girl dancing, you can see the level of independence that women in our society had. Then, after the Mughals came, the system of purdah was introduced. There was a curtailing (of independence). But in Bharatiya sanskriti, the woman has Shakti roop,” he said. “Be it science or economics, we are happy that today the women of India have brought themselves into leading roles. Today if we talk about ISRO, which Jairam Ramesh (of Congress) also talked about yesterday… Whether it is the Chandrayaan mission, or the Mars mission, or Aditya L1, there have been huge contributions by our women scientists,” he said.

Kharge intervened in the debate, saying that women panchayats already have reservation. “Do it today. Why wait till 2029? We are all ready.”

Nadda replied, “I want to clarify the BJP’s intention… It is not to score or gain political advantage, but in real terms empower women. If we wanted to gain political advantage, we could easily have said that we are implementing it now. But this (the process proposed by the government) is the only way, it is the shortest way and it is the correct way – the government runs according to legal process and the law, and there are some limitations within that. When we bring in a law, it is foolproof.”

He said the BJP was the only party with 33% reservation for women in all its committees.