Constitution amendment bill to tweak women’s quota law defeated in LS
NEW DELHI, 17 Apr: A Constitution amendment bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census.
Seats were also to be increased in states and union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The Congress on Friday said the “nefarious attempt” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah to link their “dangerous delimitation proposals” to women’s reservation has been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, and asserted that it was a win for democracy and the Constitution.
The opposition party said the defeat also calls into question the legitimacy of “the non-biological, non-grihasthi PM.”
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The nefarious and mischievous attempt of the PM and HM to link their dangerous delimitation proposals to women’s reservation (that had already been settled) has been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha.”
“This is a win for our democracy, our federalism, and the Constitution. This also calls into question the legitimacy of the non-biological, non-grihasthi PM,” Ramesh said.
The next steps for the Modi government are clear – they should implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the existing set up of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections, he said.
“This has been the consistent demand of the entire opposition ever since September 2023 when the Parliament unanimously passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Act 2023 – which finally got notified only late last night,” Ramesh said.
His remarks came on Friday, minutes after the Constitution amendment bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha was defeated in the Lower House. (PTI)
