New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Tuesday that Indian democracy will become stronger and vibrant if elections to Lok Sabha and various assemblies in 2029 are held with women quota fully in place.
In a letter to the women of the country, Modi also said that when women become active participants in policy and decision making, the journey towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’ is strengthened.
“Thus it is imperative that we do whatever is possible to add more vigour to our development trajectory and for that, the active participation of women is absolutely non-negotiable,” he said.
The prime minister said it is this principle that led to the passage of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ in 2023 and it is the same principle that has made this constitutional amendment the need of the hour.
He said with women excelling in many fields, it is only fitting that there is an increase in the participation of women in legislative bodies.
Modi said the amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ should be passed in the three-day special sittings of Parliament, beginning April 16, and any further delay will be unfortunate and a gross injustice to the women of India.
“Our democracy will become stronger and more vibrant if the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and various Assembly elections that year are held with women’s reservation fully in place,” he said in the letter posted on his personal handle of X.
Modi said he was sure that the country’s women are awaiting the passage of the Constitution amendments bill in Parliament in the next few days.
“It is important that we all come together and ensure that women’s representation in legislative bodies is introduced in letter and spirit at the very earliest,” he said.
The prime minister said the daughters of India cannot be asked to wait endlessly for what is rightfully theirs.
“When the voice of women becomes stronger in our legislatures, the voice of democracy itself becomes stronger,” he said.
“I seek your blessings and the blessings of crores of women across the length and breadth of India for the upcoming Parliament sitting and for the passage of the constitutional amendment. I urge you all to write to your local MPs and encourage them as they participate in this historic Parliament sitting,” Modi said.
He told the women to remind the MPs that they will be doing something whose impact will be felt for centuries to come. “This will surely boost their spirits!” he said.
In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, marking a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The Act provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies.
The amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act, when passed, will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
Under the current law, the reservation for women would not have become enforceable before 2034, as it was tied to the completion of the delimitation exercise post 2027 Census.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding special sitting to pass the amendments to the law.
The prime minister said in the next two days, Parliament will reconvene to discuss and hopefully pass an important constitutional amendment relating to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’.
“I am seeing that there is immense enthusiasm towards this. Women from all over the nation are expressing their joy on getting a stronger opportunity to contribute towards building a ‘Viksit Bharat’,” he said.
Modi said all women, the country’s ‘Nari Shakti’, are making their mark in every aspect of national life and this active contribution is one of the “most gladdening developments of our times”.
“Look at the world of StartUps…so many of them have women in leadership roles. Science and innovation, which are guiding the progress of humankind in the 21st century, have seen an increasing participation of women,” he said.
The prime minister said the same is the case in academics, literature, art, music, cinema, dance and heritage.
He said perhaps nowhere is this change more visible than in sports, where a quiet revolution has taken place.
“Indian women athletes are winning more medals, breaking records and challenging old mindsets. Their successes are inspiring several other young girls to pursue sports,” he said.
“With women excelling in several of the above fields, it is only fitting that we increase the participation of women in legislative bodies,” he said.
In fact, he said, this is a subject on which there is broad consensus, not only in the present but also for several decades in the past.
The prime minister said during his tenure as the President of the Ahmedabad Municipality, Sardar Patel worked towards reserving seats for women and as soon as India began its journey as an independent nation, the country had equal voting rights for women and men.
He said in the last three to four decades, numerous efforts were made to increase women’s participation in legislative bodies but the efforts did not fully fructify.
On some occasions, he said, it was a case of coming very close yet remaining very far.
“Unfortunately, a subject on which there has always been consensus was never able to reach its logical conclusion,” he said.
Modi said in the year 2047, India will mark a hundred years since freedom from colonial rule.
“As the people of India immerse themselves in realising the dream of a Viksit Bharat by then, let us ensure that justice is done to the aspirations of India’s Nari Shakti, which is almost half of our population,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls following a delimitation exercise to be carried out on the basis of last published census.
According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced and expected to be passed in the upcoming special sitting of Parliament, seats would also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 percent reservation for women.
The seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a state or Union territory,” the bill circulated among Lok Sabha members, said.
Besides other provisions, the bill seeks to amend Article 81 of the Constitution.
It states that “The House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall consist of not more than 815 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the states; and not more than 35 members to represent the Union territories, chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law provide.”
The expression “population”, according to the bill, means the population as ascertained at such a census, “as Parliament may by law determine”, of which the relevant figures have been published.
As of now figures of 2011 Census are available. The 2027 Census exercise, which began on April 1, is ongoing.
The government plans to bring a Constitution amendment bill, a bill on delimitation law and an enabling bill to apply the proposed law in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry — three Union territories with legislature — on Thursday in Lok Sabha to fast track implementation of the women’s reservation Act of 2023.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said this week that amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ should be passed in the three-day special sittings of Parliament, beginning April 16, and “any further delay will be unfortunate and a gross injustice to the women of India”.
“Our democracy will become stronger and more vibrant if the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and various Assembly elections that year are held with women’s reservation fully in place,” he said.
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the draft Constitution amendment bill, “The next census and the consequential delimitation exercise thereafter will take considerable time and thus, delay the effective and dedicated participation of women in our democratic polity.
“Hence, the objective of the proposed bill is to operationalise one-third reservation for women, including women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, in the House of the People and the legislative assemblies of the states, the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union territories through delimitation exercise to be undertaken on the basis of the population figures of the latest published census.”
The reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies will end after 15 years from the commencement of the women’s reservation law of 2023 unless Parliament extends the period for “such further time as it may specify in this behalf”.
In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘ Women’s Reservation Act, commonly known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, marking a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The Act provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies.
The amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act, when passed, will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
Under the current law, the reservation for women would not have become enforceable before 2034, as it was tied to the completion of the delimitation exercise post 2027 Census.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding special sitting to pass the amendments to the law.
