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Pouring a fresh wave of advancement into the political realm, the Lok Sabha (LS) and Rajya Sabha (RS) collectively passed the Women’s Reservation Bill 2023, also famously known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. This landmark bill reserves one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Delhi assembly for women.
Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies
The discussion on women’s reservation in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies has been ongoing since the tenure of Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996. However, due to the lack of majority then, the bill could not gain approval. Since then, multiple attempts have been made to table the bill in parliament, with the most recent attempt being in 2014.
Delhi’s Special Status
Delhi holds a unique status in the Indian constitution under Article 239AA, which grants it special administrative and legislative functioning rights as the national capital. The women’s reservation bill, via amending Article 239AA(2)(b), ensures that the laws framed by parliament are valid for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Reservation Provisions: A Deep Dive
The newly passed bill introduces several pivotal changes including Article 330A, which reserves seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha, and Article 332A, which mandates one-third of the seats in every state Legislative Assembly for women. The bill allows reserved seats for women to be allotted by rotation to varying constituencies across states or Union Territories.
Affirmative Policies
The affirmative policies implemented in this bill are commendable. One of those is to reserve one-third of the seats for women, including those reserved for SCs and STs, on a rotational basis. Furthermore, the reservation policy will commence once the census conducted post the commencement of the bill gets published. This reservation will be valid for 15 years and can be extended as deemed necessary by a law made by Parliament.
Points of Contentions Against the Bill
Despite being a step forward, there are certain reservations towards the bill. One concern is that the bill does not specify which election cycle will allow women to assume their due share. Secondly, it does not reserve seats for women in the Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Councils, leaving the representation of women in these houses lacking. Equal representation should be maintained in both Lower and Upper Houses for a truly representative democracy.
Legal Insights into Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam
This constitutional amendment borrows its provisions from Article 334 which mandated parliament to review the reservation provisions every 70 years. However, in the case of this women’s reservation bill, the sunset clause is set to 15 years for a reevaluation to take place in parliament.
While there are some issues that need to be addressed to gain unanimous support, the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill is undeniably a major stride towards boosting gender equality within India’s political sphere.
