Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak women quota law defeated in LS

NEW DELHI: A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.

While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Seats were also to be increased in states and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

Before voting took place, Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that the opposition parties are against women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies as well as an increase in the number of SC, ST seats. He said the delimitation exercise will lead to rationalisation of voters in every constituency, some which now have electors in the range of nearly 40 lakh.

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced to amend the women’s quota law and to set up a delimitation commission, Shah also claimed that the Congress deprived people of delimitation when it was in power, and it is still doing the same.

“If anyone hears this discussion carefully, one will realise that nobody opposed the constitutional amendment for women’s reservation. Everyone said ‘we welcome this move’. But all the members of the INDIA group clearly opposed women’s reservation,” Shah said at the conclusion of the debate in which about 130 MPs took part over two days.

The home minister said the Constitution provides for periodic delimitation and that includes provisions for increasing the SC and ST seats in proportion to their growing population.

“In a way, those opposing delimitation are also opposing the increase in SC and ST seats,” he said in a strong rebuttal to opposition’s charges of a hidden agenda behind the government’s proposal of delimitation of constituencies.

Shah also said that many members in the House expressed concerns about the reasons behind initiating the move to carry out delimitation now, saying the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ mentions that after the census to be conducted post 2026, in the delimitation that follows, reservation for women will be ensured.

“We did not do this. In 1971, there was Indira Gandhi’s government and it was then that they froze it. Only by lifting the number of seats that were frozen can the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ be implemented, which is why we have brought it,” he said.

The home minister also said that there are 127 seats where there are more than 20 lakh voters and it goes against the spirit of the principle of ‘one person, one vote and one value’.

“At some places, 45 lakh voters have one representative, and at some places, six lakh voters have one representative. As a result, the value of each vote is not equal across constituencies,” he said.

Shah also dismissed the claim that the Constitution amendment bill brought for providing women reservation in legislatures was aimed at delaying caste enumeration during census.

“A meeting of the Union Cabinet in 2025 decided to carry out caste enumeration along with the census exercise and the process has already started,” he said.

The home minister also promised to bring an official amendment mentioning 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats across states if the opposition parties support the women’s reservation bill.

“The women’s reservation amendment bill will fall flat if the opposition does not vote in its favour. But women of the country are watching who the obstacle is,” he said.

The three bills in question are the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.

A Constitution amendment bill can be passed only by a two-third majority of those present in the House at the time of voting.

Going by current strength, the NDA does not have the required numbers for getting the Constitution amendment bill passed.

Centre notifies Women’s Reservation Act in Assemblies, J&K, UTs

New Delhi, Apr 17: The Centre on Friday notified the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 which provides a 33 per cent quota for women in legislatures, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territories (UTs).

In a notification issued for Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said,” In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Act, 2023 (38 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 17th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”

The Ministry also issued another notification for Union Territories (UTs) implementing the Act. “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 2023 (39 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 17th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” it said.

The move comes as Parliament debates amendments to the Act, which was passed in 2023.

In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, in a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.

The act provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Under the 2023 law, the reservation would not become enforceable before 2034, as it was tied to the completion of the delimitation exercise post 2027 Census.

The three bills currently being debated in the Lok Sabha were introduced by the government to implement the women’s quota in 2029.