After nearly three decades of delays and disputes, the Women’s Reservation Bill stands on the brink of becoming law. However, the promise of a 33 percent quota for women in parliamentary and state legislative seats, as outlined in the proposed legislation, might not be realized until 2029, as per exclusive information .
According to the exclusive details, the implementation of the quota will be contingent on the first delimitation or redrawing of constituencies that occurs after the bill becomes law.
Constituency redrawing is scheduled to happen only after the next Census, which is expected to take place in 2027. The Census, originally slated for 2021, faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill is set to remain in force for 15 years once enacted, but it may be subject to extensions.
Importantly, the reserved seats for women will undergo rotation after each delimitation exercise.
The comprehensive six-page bill stipulates that one-third of seats in both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be reserved for women and filled through direct elections. Notably, the quota will not extend to the Rajya Sabha or state Legislative Councils. Within the prescribed quota, one-third of seats will be designated for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
It’s noteworthy that the bill does not encompass reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), as no such provision exists for legislative bodies. This particular aspect had been a long-standing point of contention, with parties like the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) opposing the women’s quota bill for years on these grounds.
The bill closely resembles the Women’s Reservation Bill drafted in 2010, during the tenure of the Congress-led government led by Manmohan Singh. However, two amendments related to the inclusion of quotas for the Anglo-Indian community have been omitted in the revised version.
The bill’s provisions will come into effect following the delimitation or redrawing of constituencies subsequent to the publication of “the relevant figures for the first Census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act 2023,” and it will cease to be effective 15 years after its enactment, as specified in the bill.
In essence, the new bill serves as an enabling provision, marking a significant step forward. However, a distinct bill and notification will be necessary to facilitate the delimitation process.
The statement of objects and reasons underlying the bill underscores its aim to enhance the participation of women as public representatives in the policymaking sphere, both at the state and national levels.
India’s Current Scenario:
Presently, women constitute only 14 percent of the parliamentary and legislative bodies in India, a figure significantly lower than the global average.
