On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha approved the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023, commonly known as the Women's Reservation Bill. This bill mandates the reservation of one-third of seats in both the Indian Parliament and State legislative assemblies for women.
The Lok Sabha members voted on the bill using paper slips, and the results were as follows: 454 Members of Parliament (MPs) supported the bill, while 2 MPs opposed it.

The Union Minister of State for Law & Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, introduced the Bill on Tuesday, despite opposition from MPs who hadn't seen a copy of it. The government clarified that the Bill had been "uploaded in the supplementary list of business," and it was introduced through a voice vote. This proposed legislation aims to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and State legislative assemblies for women. Additionally, it includes seats that are already reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) under the umbrella of women's reservation.

It's worth noting that the Bill specifies, reservation for women in Parliament and State legislative assemblies will be implemented once a delimitation exercise is conducted during the first census after the Act's commencement. 

Sonia Gandhi, the Chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party, expressed the Congress party's support for the Bill. However, she raised a question regarding why the implementation of the Bill was contingent on the census and delimitation exercise. Sonia Gandhi also emphasized the necessity of conducting a caste census to ensure that reservation for women includes those belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and other backward classes (OBCs).

Sangeeta Azad from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) expressed her support for the Bill but advocated for a higher reservation percentage, suggesting 50% instead of the proposed 33%. Additionally, she called for the inclusion of women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the reservation and urged the government to expedite the census process to ensure the accurate implementation of these reservations.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his desire for the inclusion of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Bill. He shared this sentiment, highlighting the importance of OBC representation in the proposed legislation. He stated, “I think it is very important that a large chunk of India's population, a large chunk of India's women should have access to this reservation. That is missing in this bill.”

DMK MP Kanimozhi pointed out that in response to her previous inquiries about the Bill, the government consistently stated the need to engage with all stakeholders, including political parties, and establish a consensus before introducing the legislation. She voiced her concerns and said, “I'd like to know what consensus was built, what discussions were held. This Bill was brought shrouded in secrecy.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded to these concerns raised by opposition parties regarding reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by explaining that the current Constitution permits elections from three categories: the general category, which encompasses OBCs, and separate categories for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Arjun Ram Meghwal pointed out that Article 82 of the Constitution clearly indicates that the readjustment of seats is an integral aspect of the delimitation process.

According to the statement of object and reasons of the Bill, it recognizes the significant role of women, who make up half of the country's population, to be of utmost importance in achieving the goal of transforming India into a developed nation (Vikasit Bharat) by the year 2047.

The Bill acknowledges that despite various efforts to empower women (Nari Shakti), achieving true empowerment requires a higher level of women's participation in the decision-making process. This is because women can bring different perspectives to the table and enhance the quality of legislative debates and decision-making processes.