Women's Reservation Bill passed in Lok Sabha; 454 vote in favour, 2 against

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill granting reservation to women on onethird seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies with near unanimity amid demands from the opposition to extend similar benefits to Other Backward Classes and immediate implementation of the measure before the elections next yearAfter a spirited eighthour debate in which 60 members participated the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution 128th Amendment Bill with 454 members voting in favour and two against itThe bill was passed as per the provisions of Article 368 2 of the Constitution relating to the passage of constitutional amendment bills which requires support of the majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than twothirds of the members present and votingThe bill will now be presented in the Rajya Sabha 13 years after the Congressled UPA government tabled its version of the proposed legislation The bill is widely expected to clear this second and hurdle too with the BJP confident of support from select Opposition partiesHome Minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha ldquoAfter elections next year soon census and delimitation exercise will take place After this there will be 13 women in this houserdquoSetting the tone of the debate former Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a strong pitch for bringing OBC women in the ambit of the proposed law and asserting that any delay in bringing the reservation into effect would be ldquogross injusticerdquo to womenAlso read Mumbai Heavy vehicles barred from plying on Oshiwara bridgeldquoFor the last 13 years Indian women have been waiting for their political responsibilities and now they are being asked to wait for a few more years mdashtwo years four years six years eight yearsrdquo the former Congress chief saidIntervening in the debate Home Minister Amit Shah brushed aside apprehensions of a delay in the implementation of the proposed law and asserted Shah indicated that womenrsquos reservation will become a reality after 2029Bill incomplete without OBC quota RahulRahul Gandhi on Wednesday said in Lok Sabha LS that he supports the womenrsquos reservation bill but lamented that the measure was ldquoincompleterdquo as it lacks quota for OBCs Participating in the debate in LS he also said the President should have been invited for transfer of proceedings from the old to the new Parliament building He also pushed for a caste census He also said a huge step in the transfer of power to women was Panchayati Raj and the present bill was another big stepThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever