Cabinet clears historic women’s reservation bill

The Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the constitution amendment bill to provide reservations for women in Parliament and state assemblies, paving the way for the introduction of the historic bill in the ongoing special session of Parliament, officials said.

Some BJP functionaries claimed that the new bill won’t be identical to the 2010 bill and might expand the scope of reservation beyond the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. In the 2010 bill, there ws also no provision for ‘quota within quota’—a key demand of many regional parties.

Since 1996, several attempts have been made to enact a law for legislative reservation for women, but all the attempts failed. In 2010, the UPA government managed to get the bill passed in the Upper House but couldn’t bring it into the Lok Sabha under pressure from allies.

This time, the bill is likely to see smooth passage. The ruling NDA, its supporter BJD and key opposition parties such as the Congress, Trinamool, BRS and Left are expected to support the bill in Parliament. Together, the bill is set to enjoy the support of 431 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 175 in the Rajya Sabha.

Hours after the Union cabinet meeting ended, Union Minister of state for food processing and Jal Shakti, Prahalad Singh Patel said on X, “Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women’s reservation, which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations @narendramodi ji and congratulations to the Modi government @PMOIndia @BJP4India @BJP4MP.”

Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethamalani said on X, “# PMModi’s Cabinet has struck a massive blow in favour of women’s empowerment by approving the #WomensReservationBill providing for 1/3 representation for women in Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies.”

“The Bill first tabled in Parliament in 1996 has gathered dust ever since. Successive governments since 1996 failed to gather the resolve to press for the bill to be enacted into law. The bill was on the anvil, in my opinion, ever since the PM pitched for Nari Shakti in his 2022 Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Thereafter, the PM has repeatedly asserted the theme of Nari Shakti -most recently in Bengaluru after the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3 when he said Nari Shakti was the ‘pinnacle of life and catalyst of change’ Every party has paid mere lip service to gender justice but in truth.”

The Union cabinet met on Monday evening at 6.30 PM, in a departure from its usual schedule on Wednesday. The marathon meeting lasted nearly 1.5 hours, but there was no official announcement of the decisions taken.

Minutes after the Union cabinet meeting, Congress tried to take credit for its earlier push for women’s reservation. The Congress’s Jairam Ramesh posted party leader Rahul Gandhi’s 2018 letter asking Modi to bring the women reservation bill and quoted Gandhi’s tweet that said, “Our PM says he’s a crusader for women’s empowerment? Time for him to rise above party politics, walk his talk, and have the Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Parliament. The Congress offers him its unconditional support.”

Ramesh added that, “It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy.”

The bill would require an amendment to the Indian Constitution and can become law if it is passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament and with approval from at least 50% of states. In the UPA era, The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 was passed only in the Rajya Sabha.

The women reservation bill also has the potential to divide the INDIA alliance, depending on its provisions. Some INDIA parties want the bill to provide sub-quotas for SC, ST and OBC communities.

The Congress, which had brought the bill without any quota in 2010, has not committed to the demands of its INDIA partners.