Women’s Quota Bill to be presented in RS amid talks with Opposition

The BJP-led Central Government is likely to implement the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 with amendments on the basis of the 2011 Census and has started talks with the Opposition. The amendment bill may be tabled in the Rajya Sabha next week.

Under the proposed framework, the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha may go up from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women, sources said on Monday. The original law had stipulated that the reservation would only come into effect following a fresh census and delimitation exercise.

The Government is keen to move swiftly, aiming to introduce a Bill in the ongoing Budget session to amend the law and expand women’s representation in the lower house of Parliament, sources said on Monday.

Preliminary talks with Opposition parties also indicated an effort to secure broad support for the smooth passage of the constitutional amendment. Officials expect the legislation to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha first, potentially next week, after Cabinet approval.

The Women’s Reservation Act, passed in 2023, provides for a 33 per cent reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, but it has yet to be implemented due to the pending delimitation exercise.

If the Government proceeds to implement the reservation before delimitation, another constitutional amendment will be required. Parliament will need to amend Section 5 of the Act, which currently links women’s reservation to a delimitation exercise following the first census after the law’s commencement. As a constitutional change, Article 368(2) mandates approval in both Houses by a majority of total members and at least two-thirds of those present and voting.

The BJP, with 240 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 103 in the Rajya Sabha, lacks the numbers in either House to pass the amendment without support from Opposition parties.

Last week, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to call for an all-party meeting to discuss the “modalities and roadmap for the implementation” of the Women’s Reservation Act.