FAQs | Women's Reservation Bill: From proposed Constitutional changes to Opposition's objections
What is Women's Reservation Bill?
The Women's Reservation Bill, or Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, seeks to reserve one-third or 33 percent of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
This also includes the provision that a third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall also be reserved for women from those groups in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal explained the four clauses that the government aims to add to the Constitution to "enhance the dignity of women as well as equality of opportunities".
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What are the four clauses in the Women's Reservation Bill?
1.
Adding Article 239 AA to the existing Article 239 under which 33 percent will be reserved for women in the Delhi Assembly.
One-third of the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi shall be reserved for women, 2.
Adding Section 33A to the existing Article 330 to implement 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha.
Article 330 of the Constitution provides for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People.
3.
Adding Article 33A after the existing Article 332 to implement 33 percent reservation for women in the state legislative assembly.
4.
Adding Article 33A after Article 334 under which the reservation for women will be applicable for 15 years.
After 15 years, Parliament would decide if it needs to be amended again or if this number/percentage has to be increased, Meghwal said.
The third point under Article 334A says that the rotation of seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha, the legislative assembly of a state or the Delhi assembly shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation.
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When will the Women Reservation Bill be implemented?
The reservation will come into effect only after the completion of the Census and delimitation exercise.
The 2021 census has not taken place so far due to COVID-19.
So, the next scheduled delimitation exercise has to take place after 2026.
It will be based on the first Census taken after 2026.
If everything goes as per schedule, the next Census must to be carried out in 2031, News 18 reported.
What is the problem with the Bill?
The new bill has no provision for reservation for women in the Rajya Sabha or the state Legislative Council.
It also does not include women from the Other Backward Class (OBC).
What is the Opposition objecting to?
1.
No immediate implementation in sight: several Opposition leaders raised concerns over the latest Bill, saying that it won't be implemented immediately.
BSP chief Mayawati said that according to this Bill, reservation will not be provided to women in the country in the coming 15-16 years.
The Opposition claims that first, a Census would be conducted and after this, the delimitation of seats would be done.
Only after the delimitation, this bill would be implemented.
2.
OBC quota in women's reservation: The Opposition also wants the Centre to conduct the Census and allow SC, ST and OBC women to be given.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, "It is the demand of the Indian National Congress that the Bill be immediately implemented..
but along with that, provision should be made for the reservation of SC, ST, OBC women after conducting a caste census." 3.
DMK MP Kanimozhi said the Bill was shrouded in secrecy while Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi echoed the sentiment.
"All of a sudden we come to know that Cabinet has taken a decision.
This battle has been fought for the past 30 years," she added.
What does the Indian government say?
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that while giving reservation, "one is the policy-based decision which would be done after amending the Constitution.
And the other is to implement this reservation on the ground, its procedure is also given in the Constitution and law".
He said the delimitation is prohibited until 2026 which needs to be done.
"The big question is do you want it or not?" he asked.
Was this Bill introduced during Congress-led regime too?
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said that in 2010, the Congress had passed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but it failed in the Lok Sabha.
"That is why, this is not a new Bill," he said.
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How is the 2010 bill different from the current one?
Among the major differences was making delimitation compulsory before the implementation of the reservation and not mentioning states and Union Territories where there is just one Lok Sabha seat.
