Sonia likely to be Cong’ lead speaker in Women's Reservation Bill discussion

NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be the lead speaker from her party for the debate when the Lok Sabha will take up the Women's Reservation Bill for the discussion on Wednesday, the sources said.

The Women's Reservation Bill that seeks to provide a 33 per cent quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was introduced in the Lok Sabha today in the ongoing special session of Parliament and will be taken up for discussion on Wednesday when the House will meet at 11 am.

The Union Cabinet on Monday approved the Women Reservation Bill.

On Tuesday, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. The bill has been named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. In 2008, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government tabled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, and it was passed in 2010. However, the Bill was never taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha. Introducing the bill in the house Meghawal said, "This bill is in relation to women empowerment. By amending Article 239AA of the Constitution, 33 per cent of seats will be reserved for women in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. Article 330A reservations of seats for SC/ST in the House of People."

Arjun Meghwal also said that once the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is passed, the number of seats for women in Lok Sabha will increase to 181. Discussion for passing of the Bill in the House will be taken up on Wednesday, September 20.

The Bill will be taken up in Rajya Sabha on September 21 government sources said.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to introduce three new articles and one new clause in the Constitution.

Under a new clause in 239AA, seats shall be reserved for women in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, 1/3rd of the seats reserved for SCs shall be reserved for women, 1/3rd of the total number of seats to be filled by direct elections shall be reserved for women through law determined by parliament.

Under the new Article - 330A, reservation for women in Lok Sabha - 1/3rd of seats reserved for SCs and STs shall be reserved for women, 1/3rd of total seats to be filled by direct elections to the Lok Sabha shall be reserved for women.

As per the new article 332A, the reserved seats for women in every state Legislative Assembly, 1/3rd of seats reserved for SCs and STs shall be reserved for women, 1/3rd of total seats to be filled by direct elections to the LA shall be reserved for women.

334A, a new article says that reservation shall come into effect after the delimitation is undertaken after the relevant figures for the first census have been published. The rotation of seats for women shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation.