The landmark women’s reservation Bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, has now become a law after receiving the assent of President Droupadi Murmu.
Confirming this, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tweeted, “With the approval of the historic ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act-2023’ by President Droupadi Murmu, this Bill has become an important law of India.” The Bill was introduced by Meghwal in the Lok Sabha on September 19. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha on September 21.
As per a notification issued by the Law Ministry on Friday, the President gave her assent to the Bill on Thursday. The Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar signed the Bill on Thursday, after which it was placed before the President for her assent.
Now, it will be officially known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act. According to the gazette notification, dated September 28, “It shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.”
According to a government source, the Bill does not require ratification by the states since it doesn’t change the actual number of seats that the states have in Parliament. “So state representation in Parliament remains unaffected,” the source said.
“Prima facie, the women’s reservation Bill should have had ratification by 50 per cent of the states since it mandates mandatory change in the composition of each Assembly constituency. It is, however, clear that there is no one to oppose the Bill on this ground and, therefore, the government has decided to go ahead without attempting state ratification. Secondly, it is clear that this is further proof of the government’s non-intention to bring in anything in the near future, not only till 2029 but even possibly not till 2034. And hence they may take the plea that they will reconsider state ratification at a later date, which in my view would be equally unconstitutional after Presidential assent,” Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi told The Indian Express.
Late on Thursday evening, Meghwal had said that Dhankhar had signed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 as passed by the Houses of Parliament for being presented to the President for her assent under Article 111 of the Constitution.
Called the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, the Act provides 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies, becoming the first Bill to be passed in the new Parliament building. The seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will also come within the purview of women’s reservation.
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On September 20, the women’s reservation Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha after an eight-hour debate, with just two of the over 450 members voting against it. A day later, the Bill was ‘unanimously’ passed in the Rajya Sabha.
The Upper House had earlier passed the women’s reservation Bill in 2010 during the Congress-led UPA government, but it was not taken up in the Lok Sabha and subsequently lapsed in the lower House.
After the Bill cleared the legislative hurdles in both the Houses last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it will usher in an era of stronger representation and empowerment for women in the country. While the Opposition had largely welcomed the Bill, during the debate in Parliament, some leaders had flagged concerns over the non-inclusion of OBC sub-quota in the draft legislation.
