PM Modi warns Opposition for opposing women's reservation bill: ‘Will pay a price for a long time'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, while speaking in the Lok Sabha during the special session of Parliament, warned opposition that those who had opposed reservations for women were not forgiven by women across the country and that they “will pay a price for long time”.

“Those who oppose women quota bill will pay a price for a long time,” PM Modi said, noting “since women's reservation came into discussion, those who opposed this in the past, were not forgiven by the women of the country and they ended up badly in the elections that followed.”

Intervening in the Lok Sabha debate on three bills seeking to amend the women’s quota law and establish a delimitation commission, PM Modi said that if all parties back the proposals, the outcome would benefit the nation rather than serve any one political group.

The prime minister stated, "Let us all MPs not miss this important opportunity to give reservation to women. I have come to appeal to you that do not see this from a political lens, this is a decision in national interest.”

‘Today we have brought it to a mature stage’

PM Modi said that the women’s reservation initiative should have been implemented when it was first proposed 25–30 years ago, adding that it has now been brought to a more mature stage.

He further stated that such measures are refined over time in line with evolving needs, describing this as a strength of democracy. Referring to India as the “Mother of Democracy,” he said the country’s democratic system has evolved over thousands of years and that members of the House now have a valuable opportunity to contribute a new chapter to that ongoing journey.

"The need was that when this idea was first conceived 25-30 years ago, and the need was felt, we should have implemented it, and today we have brought it to a mature stage. According to the need, it is also improved from time to time, and this is the beauty of democracy. Ours is the Mother of Democracy. Our democracy has been a development journey for thousands of years, and all of us in this House have the auspicious opportunity to add a new dimension to this development journey," he said.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, aimed at modifying the women’s quota law, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday following a division of votes.

Alongside it, two other bills, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, were also tabled to facilitate the implementation of the revised women’s reservation provisions in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir.

The bills were introduced earlier following an intense 40-minute debate, after which the opposition demanded a division of votes for the introduction of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill. The bill was subsequently tabled with 251 members voting in favour and 185 opposing its introduction.

Several Asian nations, including India’s neighbours such as Nepal and Bangladesh, have implemented similar quotas for women in their national legislatures. In India, one-third of seats are already reserved for women in local governing bodies, but women currently make up only around 14% of the seats in the lower house of Parliament.

(With inputs from PTI)