Explore Business Standard
Women's Reservation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Parliament is close to creating "new history" when the Women's Reservation Act will be amended this week for its implementation in 2029. Addressing a conference of women here, ahead of a three-day special sitting of Parliament, where the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is expected to be amended, Modi also said that when the law was introduced in 2023, it was passed unanimously by all parties and there was a collective demand for its implementation by 2029. He said the Opposition, in particular, strongly emphasised the need to ensure the bill is implemented by 2029. "Our country's Parliament is close to creating a new history. A new history that will realise the visions of the past; that will fulfil the resolutions of the future. A resolve for an India that is egalitarian, where social justice is not merely a slogan, but a natural part of our work culture, our decision-making process," he said at the conference named as the 'Nari Shakti ..
Ahead of the special three-day Parliament session when the women's reservation law is expected to be amended, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said the proposed amendments should not be a political tool that undermines federalism and vitiates the vitality of Parliament. In a post on X, he alleged that the government is convening a "special session" to derive political mileage ahead of state polls with an eye on delimitation before the 2029 general elections. He also asserted that Congress is committed to a one-third reservation for women, but the same should be inclusive and fair. Sharing his pictures at the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met on Friday to take a stand on the proposed amendments to the women's reservation law (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), he said, "While the Congress has always championed the 33% quota, and the first to introduce a Bill and pass it in the Rajya Sabha in 2013, the current government's approach raises serious alarms." The meeting
The Congress on Friday alleged that the Modi government's "U-turn" on the implementation of the women's reservation law is aimed at covering up his "monumental failures" in governance and "severe setbacks" to foreign policy. The opposition party claimed that the PM owes an "apology" to the women of India as he did not accept the Congress' demand of implementing the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, from the 2024 polls itself. "Actually he owes an apology to the women of India. When the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 was passed by Parliament in 2023 unanimously, the Indian National Congress had demanded its implementation from 2024 itself," Ramesh said on X. But this was not acceptable to the PM who made the reservation dependent on the delimitation and census exercises that he had failed to conduct and then dithered on for many years, the Congress leader said. Ramesh claimed that 30 months later, facing defeat in the assembly elections, in spite of the Election Commission ..
A nine-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday commenced hearing on petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including Sabarimala temple of Keralam, and on the ambit and scope of religious freedom practised by multiple faiths. The Constitution bench comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi. Ahead of the hearing, the Centre filed written submissions and requested the top court to uphold restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into Sabarimala temple. The Union of India said the issue falls squarely within the domain of religious faith and denominational autonomy, and lies beyond the scope of judicial review. In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench, by a 4:1 majority verdict, had lifted the ban that prevented women between the age of 10 and 50 from entering the Ayyappa shrine at Sabarima
Telangana BJP President G Kishan Reddy has sought to know how the ruling BRS can maintain a friendship with the AIMIM which voted against the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament. Though the issue of women's reservation has been a part of public discourse in the country for many decades, no party or leader has been able to take it to its logical end, he told reporters on Sunday. "Modi is the leader who took revolutionary decisions on pending issues, including taxation, Article 370, Ram Janmabhoomi and construction of toilets for poor in the last nine years," he said. The bill -- which allocates one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies and the Delhi assembly for women -- was passed in the new Parliament building as per the Centre's decision, he said. Unfortunately, Hyderabad-based AIMIM was the only party to vote against the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, Reddy pointed out. Describing AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi as the "guru" of CM K ...
The BJP on Saturday announced that it will launch an awareness campaign on the Women's Reservation Bill in all 50,000 villages of Odisha and highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts towards women empowerment. This was announced by senior party leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in presence of BJP state president Manmohan Samal. "The party will rope in local organisations to hold awareness meetings in 50,000 villages in Odisha. At present, Lok Sabha has 81 women MPs which will increase to 182 after the implementation of the bill. While the Odisha Assembly has 18 women MLAs, it will increase to 49," Pradhan told reporters here at the BJP's state headquarters. The bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received the parliamentary nod on Thursday as the Rajya Sabha unanimously voted in its favour. The Lok Sabha passed it on Wednesday. It will now require the approval of a majority of the state assemblies. The ..
With the passing of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill, women's representation in policymaking is also set to increase significantly, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said here on Saturday. Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying "Yahi Samay Hai, Sahi Samay Hai", he urged the women to come forward, "chase your dreams, grab the opportunities available all around, and take India forward to the status of a developed country by 2047." "The special session of the Parliament was truly historic as we moved to the new parliament building and the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill got passed," Thakur, who is also Youth Affairs and Sports Minister said at an interaction with the youth at the PSG College of Arts and Sciences, Coimbatore. Under the leadership of the PM, sincere efforts have been made to empower women and provide them with opportunities. "The result is clearly visible, as today our #NariShakti is represented in the Army, Navy, and Air ...
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asserted that he was in support of women's reservation in Parliament and state assemblies though there must be provisions for adequate representation of SCs, STs, OBCs and EBCs. Speaking to reporters, he urged the Centre to move fast on implementing the proposals in the women's reservation bill by conducting the census, and consider his long-standing demand for a caste census. "I have been in support of women's reservation. Why should they not be assured representation? My speeches during the days I was a member of parliament bear testimony to my stand that remains unchanged," said Kumar. "We have ensured adequate representation of women wherever it is possible. In panchayats, urban local bodies, government jobs, including the police force, the representation of women in Bihar is highest for any state in the country," he added. Kumar said it must also be ensured that there is a provision for ensuring that women from SCs, STs, OBCs and
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the "mentality" of north India and Parliament seems not conducive yet to giving reservations to women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies. He made the remarks at a programme organised by the Pune Doctors' Association where he and his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule were interviewed. Replying to a question on the Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to reserve 33 per cent seats in Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women which is yet to be passed, and whether this shows the country is still not mentally ready to accept the women leadership, Pawar said he has been speaking on this issue in Parliament since he was Congress MP in Lok Sabha. "The 'mansikta' (mentality) of Parliament, especially of North India, has not been conducive (on this issue). I can recall that when I was Lok Sabha MP in Congress, I used to talk about the issue of reservations for women in Parliament. Once after