All You Need To Know About Women's Reservation Bill Cleared By The Cabinet

Women's Reservation Bill: The Women's Reservation Bill was cleared in a key Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 18, 2023, Monday, as per the latest media reports (by Mint and India Today). The women's reservation bill provides 33% female representation in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. 

The women's reservation law is anticipated to be brought up for consideration during the current special session of Parliament, but the administration has not yet issued an official statement on the matter. A 33% quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures is guaranteed under the law. Numerous officials from various political parties pushed for the introduction of this significant bill.

What is the Women’s Reservation Bill

According to the Constitution’s 108th Amendment Bill, 2008, women should be given a one-third (33%) of the seats in state legislative assemblies and the Parliament. Within the 33% quota, the law suggests sub-reservation for SCs, STs, and Anglo-Indians. Rotational allocation of reserved seats is an option for several state or union territory constituencies. 

• The bill says that the reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the amendment act.
• The latest significant progress on the matter took place in 2010, when the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with marshals taking out several MPs who disagreed, but it was never put into effect since the Lok Sabha was unable to pass it.
• 78 women were elected to the current Lok Sabha, which has 543 members altogether. This is less than 15% of the entire membership. The statistics the administration published with Parliament last December show that women make up roughly 14% of the Rajya Sabha as well. (New Parliament House: Women MPs Share Old Parliament House Memories Through Handwritten Notes)

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel Tweet 

Union MoS Prahlad Patel deletes his post on 'Women's Reservation Bill'. pic.twitter.com/N8PeEvg5kV

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 18, 2023

According to the latest tweet by Press Trust of India (PTI), it says that Union MoS Prahlad Patel deleted his post on 'Women's Reservation Bill'. 

On X (formerly known as Twitter), the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel announced the development but later deleted the post.

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Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh Tweet 

It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and… https://t.co/lVI9RLHVY6

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 18, 2023

Reacting to this Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, “It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy."

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Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari, and Arjun Ram Meghwal were among the Union ministers present at the meeting, which was presided over by PM Modi. 

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