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In a dramatic legislative stalemate on Friday, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha after the government failed to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority. Despite a day of high-octane debate, the Bill—which sought to expand the House to 50 seats and implement a
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Women’s Reservation Bill Fails Lok Sabha Test – What’s Next
Women’s Reservation Bill Fails Lok Sabha Test – What’s Next?
The Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at modifying the women’s reservation law and increasing Lok Sabha seats for the 2029 elections has been defeated in the Lower House.
The Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak women reservation law and increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha for 2029 General Election was defeated after division of votes in the Lower House on Friday. The bill was defeated after 298 members voted in support while 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.
For the Modi government, it was the first instance in 12 years of its power so far that a constitutional amendment was not passed in the parliament.
The government in total had tabled three bills on Thursday that marked the commencement of the three day special extension of the Parliament’s Budget Session. These bills were — the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women’s quota law, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill to implement the proposed amended women’s quota act in Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.
Reverting to 2023 Law
Withdrawal of Delimitation Bill to Women Reservation
Another possible next move by the government could be to withdraw the Delimitation Bill 2026 and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 linked to the women’s quota act.
Sticking to Original Timeline
The Centre may also follow the original 2023 Act schedule by conducting the census – projected for 2027 – followed by delimitation. This means that the women reservation would first apply to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
What Opposition Demands
The Opposition, throughout this debate, has asked the government to immediately implement women reservation based on the current strength of the Lok Sabha – which is 543 – without linking it with the delimitation.
Sending Constitutional Amendment Bill to Joint Select Committee
The government can also send the bill to the Joint Select Committee for wider consultations with the opposition and discuss their concerns, especially fears that the Southern States might lose their representation in the Lok Sabha. However, the Centre has assured that no state will lose its strength in the Lower House.
Now that the Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak the Women Reservation Act has failed to pass the Lok Sabha test as the government did not succeed in managing the numbers, the Centre is not likely to go ahead with the other two bills including – the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.
The other two bills would be needed to implement the women reservation if the government had managed to pass the Constitutional Amendment.
Blaming the Opposition after Constitutional Amendment Bill failed to pass in Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to X and said, “Today, a very strange scene was witnessed in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, TMC, DMK, and Samajwadi Party did not allow the passage of the necessary Constitution Amendment Bill for the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. Rejecting the bill that would give women 33% reservation, celebrating it, and raising victory slogans is truly reprehensible and beyond imagination.”
“Now, the women of the country will not get the 33% reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, which was their right. The Congress and its allies have not done this for the first time, but have done it repeatedly. Their mindset is neither in the interest of women nor of the country. I want to tell them that this insult to Nari Shakti will not stop here; it will go far. The opposition will have to face the ‘anger of women’ not only in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but at every level, every election, and every place,” the Home Minister said.
On Thursday, the government introduced three Bills after a fiery 40-minute debate following which the opposition pressed for the division of votes to introduce the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill.
The Bill was later introduced with 251 members supporting it and 185 members voting against the introduction. Congress’ KC Venugopal questioned why the proposed changes in the women’s quota law were not incorporated when it was passed earlier by Parliament.
“Bills to tweak the women’s quota law and set up a delimitation panel are anti-constitutional,” he said. Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav questioned the rush to introduce the bills.
“We support women’s quota in legislature but why not hold a census?” he asked.
Hitting back on Opposition’s criticism concerning the census, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Census 2027 is on and the Centre has also decided to go for caste enumeration, but reservation based on religion is “unconstitutional”.
DMK members dressed in black clothes in the Lok Sabha to protest amendments to the women’s reservation law. “We favour the 2023 women’s quota law, but the present Bill is aimed at delimitation,” DMK’s T R Baalu said.
RSP’s NK Premchandran opposed the women’s quota law amendment, saying it is not meant for reservation but delimitation.
Venugopal said a Constitutional amendment bill cannot be discussed together with other ordinary bills. Shah, however, rejected his objection saying it can be done.
Speaker Om Birla cited precedents to say that the Constitution amendment Bill can be discussed with other Bills as they relate to the same subject.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats will 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 will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a state or Union territory”, the draft bill circulated among Lok Sabha members said.
Several opposition parties earlier decided to unitedly vote against the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, while asserting that they are not against reservation for women in legislative bodies.
With inputs from PTI
Source: Timesnownews.com
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