The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (ISO 15919: Nārī Śakti Vandan Adhiniyam), was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 during the special session of Parliament.
[8] President Droupadi Murmu signed the bill on 28 September 2023, and the gazette notification was also published the same day, which made it clear that the reservation will come into force soon after the first delimitation (frozen until 2026).
The matter of quota for women was previously deliberated upon in the years 1996, 1997, and 1998; however, it was unable to be pursued further due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha's or the absence of consensus among political parties.
Consequently, it becomes increasingly imperative to accord utmost importance to this issue, aiming to fortify a political decision-making process that is participatory, responsive, inclusive, equitable, and accountable.
Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2010 had suggested the Women Reservation Bill should not be enacted due to its potential implication of encouraging male parliamentarians to engage in wolf-whistling towards their female colleagues.
[12] The bill introduced by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on the day-one of business in the newly built Parliament House aims to increase the number of Women Parliamentarians to 181.
[14] On 20 September 2023, Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah informed during the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill that census and the delimitation exercise will take place after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
[19] The process of delimitation entails the revision of constituency boundaries pertaining to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, with the aim of accurately reflecting increase in population distribution.
PM further revealed that it had been introduced multiple times during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, yet regrettably failed to amass the necessary numerical support to transform the aspirations of women into tangible reality.
Referring to this One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment in the Indian Constitution, he unveiled Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam as a measure to enhance the robustness of India's democratic system by increasing the involvement of women in policy-making.
Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi remarked against identifying this Bill with the Bharatiya Janata Party and questioned the consensus-building measures.
Asaduddin Owaisi and Imtiyaz Jaleel voted against the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam due to the non-availability of quota for representation of Muslim women and OBC candidates.
[21] Leader of Opposition and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed the Women's Reservation Bill was first proposed by Sonia Gandhi.
He further emphasized his personal connection to this development, as he had previously introduced this bill during his tenure as the law minister in the Union government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
While Dola Sen of TMC and Dr. Sukanta Majumdar of BJP in West Bengal welcomed the legislation, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar questioned the delayed implementation.
Kiren Rijiju said it requires that political leaders refrain from engaging in criticism of the women's reservation bill, and instead, extend their unwavering support towards its implementation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his appreciation for the contributions made by all members and political parties towards the advancement of women and the promotion of nari shakti.
Conversely, proponents of this bill assert that the opposition from leaders of these political parties stems from patriarchal tendencies, as they apprehend a potential loss of power to women if a significant portion of seats is allocated to them.