The Rajya Sabha unanimously approved the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill 2023, which seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, ending the protracted and seemingly endless wait for parliamentary approval for a women’s quota in legislatures.
The administration is now free to obtain the President’s consent, a requirement but still a formality, thanks to the unanimous 214-0 vote—a unusual, if not the only one—following an 11-hour debate.
The women’s quota law (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) will automatically be applicable to all state and UT assembly as well as Delhi and Puducherry once it is passed. Government sources told TOI that the amendment does not require ratification by half of the states because Parliament has the authority to determine the membership of legislatures that are powerless to change the situation.
The resounding “aye” from across the aisle in support of the bill in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, as it did in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, demonstrated the support the notion of a women’s quota has amassed. This measure has the capacity to revolutionize not only the dynamics of politics but also the gender equations in society. Despite being convinced that the Act is a cover for the BJP’s political calculations, opposition parties chose to support it rather than throw a wrench into the works as they have in the past, starting in 1996.
Following a proforma reiteration of their demand for a sub-quota for OBCs and Muslims within the larger women’s quota, even OBC parties, which had stalled due to the covert indulgence of those who feared that their seats would be awarded to the “reserved-for-women” category, played along. The dissidents proposed amendments, but they were unable to muster the will to vote for them.
There is no representation for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in the RS, spoiling a similar display of unity there with both of its members voting against the bill.
A day before the special session was supposed to end, both Houses were adjourned sine die.
PM Narendra Modi, who made all the correct calls, including calling the special session and keeping the “agenda” secret, immediately expressed his happiness. “A defining moment in our nation’s democratic journey. Congratulations to 140 crore Indians. I thank all the RS MPs who voted for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Such unanimous support is indeed gladdening,” he remarked.
Modi had reached Rajya Sabha, a rare appearance on the day of a vote by a PM who is a member of Lok Sabha, to make an appeal to MPs for a unanimous vote. “Such a positive approach will boost the confidence of our women,” he said.
There is no representation for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in the RS, spoiling a similar display of unity there with both of its members voting against the bill.
A day before the special session was supposed to end, both Houses were adjourned sine die.
PM Narendra Modi, who made all the correct calls, including calling the special session and keeping the “agenda” secret, immediately expressed his happiness. “A defining moment in our nation’s democratic journey. Congratulations to 140 crore Indians. I thank all the RS MPs who voted for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Such unanimous support is indeed gladdening,” he remarked.
Modi had reached Rajya Sabha, a rare appearance on the day of a vote by a PM who is a member of Lok Sabha, to make an appeal to MPs for a unanimous vote. “Such a positive approach will boost the confidence of our women,” he said.
Ministers and BJP speakers gave Modi credit for advancing the law and made his passage, enactment, and enforcement his personal “guarantee” as he loomed big over the proceedings. When RS chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar revealed that the day also happened to be the PM’s birthday according to the Hindu calendar, there was raucous cheering.
The quota will go into effect following seat delimitation, which can only be done after 2026 due to a restriction on seat changes up until then. This restriction is a result of the 84th constitutional amendment, which stipulates that the next delimitation exercise be based on the first population census carried out after 2026.
However, according to government sources, the census, which was scheduled for 2021 but was postponed because of Covid, would be conducted right after the Lok Sabha elections and will serve as the basis for the delimitation commission’s delineation of constituencies.
According to government sources, there was discussion of going through with the necessary parliamentary procedure, which would also silence the opposition parties raising concerns about the delay between the adoption of the measure and its implementation.
The number of Lok Sabha and assembly seats will be expanded in accordance with the delimitation commission’s recommendations once the freeze on seat increases expires in 2026, a senior government official revealed.
The government official clarified, however, that the number of seats will be increased proportionally to the current numbers in states rather than based on the headcount, allaying concerns that south Indian states, which had been more successful in birth control, had expressed.
Despite demands for changes such the inclusion of OBC and Muslim quotas from opposition parties, the bill was able to pass without any opposition. When it came to supporting it, they put their concerns on hold.
This was considered as a course correction because the bill had previously failed to gain the backing of Parliament five times, once despite being passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010, which occurred months after it was tabled in the House. After being referred to Lok Sabha, the measure expired in 2014 when the lower House was dissolved.
The demand for OBC inclusion in the women’s quota, according to a government official, is unrealistic because it wasn’t even included in the 2010 bill that the Rajya Sabha passed while the UPA was in power, and there was a cabinet note against it.
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Source: TOI
