Union Law Minister Meghwal introduces Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha

A day after the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha with overwhelming majority, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moves the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/UqukFCjIEc

— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2023

Addressing the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Meghwal said, “This reservation is vertical as well as horizontal. SC-ST women will also have reservation under this. So, Census and Delimitation are important…As soon as the Bill is passed, there will be Census and Delimitation. It is a Constitutional process. Which seat will go to women, this will be decided by the Delimitation Commission….”

#WATCH | Women's Reservation Bill | In Rajya Sabha, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says, "This reservation is vertical as well as horizontal. SC-ST women will also have reservation under this. So, Census and Delimitation are important...As soon as the Bill is passed, there… pic.twitter.com/RnYwhqiN3a

— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2023

He said through the Constitutional Amendment Bill, a section will inserted in Article 330, Article 332 and Article 334.

“Through these, one-third of the seats will be reserved in Lok Sabha and all the state Assemblies of the country. This is a major step,” he added.

Rajya Sabha will have a seven-and-a-half hour window to discuss the Bill. The legislation is widely expected to get approval of the Upper House.

It will then require approval of majority of state assemblies. It will be implemented after a delimitation exercise based on Census data is completed.

This is the seventh attempt since 1996 to get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed.

As per the list of Business, Meghwal will also move the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023 which was passed in the Lok Sabha in July this year. The Bill is now pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill seeks to repeal 65 laws that are obsolete or that have been made redundant by other laws. It also corrects a minor drafting error in the Factoring Regulation Act, of 2011.

On Wednesday, after heated debates that saw leaders from the BJP and Opposition parties face off, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha with 454-2 votes.

The opposition demanded the inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and SC/ST communities under the Bill, which aims to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

Another point of contention was the timeline for the implementation of the Bill, with the Opposition parties batting for the legislation to come to force before next year’s general elections.

Women presently make up for nearly half of India’s 95 crore registered voters but comprise only 15 per cent of lawmakers in Parliament and 10 per cent in state assemblies.

The 33 per cent reservation for women will not apply to the upper house of Parliament and state legislatures.

With inputs from agencies