NEW DELHI, 13 Apr: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Parliament is close to creating “new history” when the Women’s Reservation Act will be amended this week for its implementation in 2029.
The enactment of the law will realise the visions of the past and fulfil the resolutions of the future, he said at a ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Sammelan’ here ahead of a three-day sitting of Parliament, where the amendments to the women’s quota law are expected to be brought for consideration and passage.
“Our country’s Parliament is close to creating a new history. A new history that will realise the visions of the past; that will fulfil the resolutions of the future.
A resolve for an India that is egalitarian, where social justice is not merely a slogan but a natural part of our work culture, our decision-making process,” he said at the conference.
He said also that when the law was introduced in 2023, it was passed unanimously by all parties and there was a collective demand, particularly from the opposition, for its implementation by 2029.
The prime minister said that from the state Assemblies to the country’s Parliament, the time to end decades of waiting is 16, 17 and 18 April – when the extended budget session has been scheduled for the consideration and passage of the amendments.
“In 2023, in the new Parliament, we took the first step in the form of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act… Amidst these crucial milestones in our nation’s development journey, India stands on the brink of making one of the most significant decisions of the 21st century.
“I say with great responsibility that this decision will be among the most important of our time. It is a decision dedicated to the empowerment of women, a true tribute to the strength and reverence of womanhood,” he said.
In September 2023, the Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, marking a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The Act provides for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies.
The amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act, when passed, will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
Under the current law, the reservation for women would not have become enforceable before 2034, as it is tied to the completion of the delimitation exercise post 2027 census.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding special sitting to pass the amendments to the law. (PTI)
