Indian Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Women’s Reservation Bill. The bill grants 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, news agency ANI reported. 454 MPs voted in favour of the bill whereas only two were against it.
The constitutional amendment bill, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The bill also provides for similar reservation within seats reserved for scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) candidates. The reservation will continue for 15 years and seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise, according to the bill.
The bill, named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise of Lok Sabha constituencies is completed. The delimitation exercise will be carried out after the completion of the next population census. Therefore, the bill is unlikely to be in force during the next Lok Sabha election in 2024.
