Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tables Women's Reservation Bill in LS, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam
Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday tabled the women's reservation bill termed as 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' which aims to reserve 33 per cent of seats in Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, was listed for introduction in the Lower House through a supplementary list of business.
The Union Cabinet earlier approved the women's reservation bill in a meeting after the first special session of Parliament.
prime Minister Narendra Modi said the bill aims to expand women's participation in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
«Our democracy will be further strengthened with the bill,» he added.
Addressing the house, Modi said discussion on Women's Reservation Bill happened for a long time. «During Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime Women's Reservation Bill was introduced several times but there was not enough majority to pass the Bill, and because of this this dream remained incomplete.»
Today, God has given me the opportunity to take this forward, he said.
«Our government is bringing a new Bill today on Women's participation in both Houses,» he added.
He urged all the members of both the Houses to pass the Bill unanimously.
Women account for almost half of India's 950 million registered voters but make for only 15% of parliament and around 10% of state legislatures, pushing the world's largest democracy to the bottom of the global list on gender parity in legislatures.
The bill was officially introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996 by the UPA government. Since the last 27 years, the bill has been waiting to get approved by the Parliament.
Timeline of the Bill:
- 1996: Bill introduced in Lok Sabha by UPA government; failed to get approval in
