NEW DELHI: In a historic victory for Indian women in the political sphere, parliamentarians finally passed the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, on Wednesday.
Breaking the proverbial glass ceiling, female parliamentarians celebrated the victory by securing a regurgitating majority of 454 votes in favour of the bill while two were against it. As the provisions stand, the bill, if passed in the Rajya Sabha, will be implemented after the 2024 General Elections.
The bill provides 33 per cent reservation for female parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Discussions concerning the bill ranged from heated debate between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s treasury benches and the Opposition, to a solemn agreement, accepting the need for the bill to come about. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and union minister Smriti Irani engaged in a war of words claiming proprietorship of the bill.
FLASH: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi voices her support for the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament today, recalling how her late husband Rajiv Gandhi first introduced it.
“Rajiv Gandhi’s vision is halfway realized, and with the passage of this bill, we will bring it to… pic.twitter.com/AAUOjhqdW6
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 20, 2023
Superb speech by @smritiirani ji.
“We have made women count. And it is time for you to step up in the opposition, and not mere reduce your words to paper, to speech, but speak with action and support Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam,” says Union Women and Child Development Minister… pic.twitter.com/lTSBWDUpBz— Nishant🇮🇳 (@iNishant4) September 20, 2023
Many other opposition leaders like TMC’s Mahua Moitra and DMK’s Kanimozhi, also engaged in critiquing the bill’s urgency.
FLASH: DMK MP, @KanimozhiDMK while speaking in the Lok Sabha about the Women’s Reservation bill today, highlights, “In 1990, after the Montague-Chelmsford reforms were passed, we finally gained the right to vote. The Justice Party took a step by passing a resolution to grant… pic.twitter.com/t74nYJl9NJ
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 20, 2023
As of now, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill will have to be passed in the Rajya Sabha.