On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the women's reservation bill with an overwhelming majority, as 454 members voted in favour of its consideration, while only two members voted against it. This historic bill, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, aims to reserve one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.
The government introduced the bill on Tuesday, marking it as the first legislation to be presented in the new Parliament building. This bill, which seeks to facilitate greater involvement of women in policymaking, has been pending for more than 25 years due to a lack of consensus among political parties.
During the Lok Sabha discussion on Wednesday, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi expressed her support for the bill but also called for provisions to reserve seats for OBC (Other Backward Classes) women and immediate implementation of the quota.
According to the bill, the reservation will come into effect following a delimitation exercise and will be in force for 15 years. Some opposition leaders questioned the necessity of conducting a census and delimitation before implementing the women's quota, arguing that it would cause unnecessary delays.
In contrast, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi voiced his opposition to the bill, contending that it would only provide reservation to "savarna women." He emphasized, "This government seeks to enhance representation for savarna women while neglecting the representation of OBC women and Muslim women. Out of 690 women MPs elected to Lok Sabha, only 25 of them are from the Muslim community."
Owaisi further stated, "I oppose this legislation...The rationale provided for the bill is that it will lead to more women being elected to Parliament. If that is the rationale, then why is this rationale not extended to OBC and Muslim women, whose representation in this august House is minimal?"
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and party MP Imtiaz Jaleel both opposed the bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
