Women's Reservation Bill Successfully Passes Parliament, On Path To Becoming A Law

The Women's Reservation Bill achieved a historic victory in the Upper House, overcoming decades of obstacles. To become official, it only requires the President's signature, which will grant 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Here are the key highlights of this big story :

-The bill garnered unanimous backing in the Rajya Sabha, with no abstentions or opposing votes. It had previously passed in the Lok Sabha yesterday, receiving support from 454 MPs, with just two MPs casting dissenting votes.

-PM Modi, present in the Upper House for the voting and passing of the bill, said, "The debates were very successful. In the future as well, this debate will help us all. Thank everyone for their support to the bill. The spirit will give birth to new self-esteem among Indians".

-Similar to the Lok Sabha, the major point of contention in the Rajya Sabha today revolved around the implementation timeline. This timeline can only commence following the completion of the census and delimitation processes, which effectively delays it by a minimum of six years. The INDIA bloc advocates for immediate implementation.

-"Amendment of this bill is not difficult... you (the government) can do this now but have postponed it till 2031. What does this mean?" said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

-Derek O'Brien from the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of lacking a genuine commitment to women's empowerment, stating, "You could not find one woman in 16 NDA states for Chief Minister," during the Rajya Sabha debate.

-Former Union minister Kapil Sibal stated, "We don't know who will come to power, but they must make a statement that if they don't complete the process by 2029, they will resign as prime minister and home minister".

-During the debate, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an intervention, remarked that the Centre convened the special session to give a good start to the new parliament building through the historic bill. The BJP does not play politics in matters related to women, she added.

-The government maintains that the Census and delimitation processes are intended to guarantee precision and transparency. "Delimitation Commission is an important body for poll process in the country. If we are reserving one-third seats... who will do it? If we do it, you (the Opposition) will question it," Union Minister Amit Shah had told the Lok Sabha yesterday.

-During the debate today, BJP chief JP Nadda criticised the Congress for requesting OBC quota inclusion within the reservation for women lawmakers. He emphasised that it was the BJP-led NDA that gave the country its first OBC prime minister.

-Upon its implementation, the Lok Sabha will witness a significant rise in the number of female members, increasing from the current 82 to 181. Additionally, there will be a 33 percent reservation for women in state assemblies as well.