PM hails passage of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha

Source: The post is based on the article “PM hails passage of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha”  published in PIB on 21st September 2023

What is the News?

The Prime Minister has welcomed the passage of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha.

Background:

Source: Indian Express

The 73rd and 74th Amendments passed in 1993 which introduced panchayats and municipalities in the Constitution, reserved one-third of seats for women in these bodies.

The Constitution also provides for reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in proportion to their number in the population.

However, the Constitution does not provide for reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

Currently, 15% of the total members of the 17th Lok Sabha are women while in state legislative assemblies, women on average constitute 9% of the total members.

Bills amending the Constitution to reserve seats for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies have been introduced in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2008.The first three Bills lapsed with dissolution of their respective Lok Sabhas.  

The 2008 Bill was introduced in and passed by Rajya Sabha but it also lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

Now, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha.

What are the key provisions of Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023?

Reservation for women: The Bill reserves, as nearly as may be, one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

Commencement of reservation: The reservation will be effective after the census conducted after the commencement of this Bill has been published.Based on the census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women.  

– The reservation will be provided for a period of 15 years.However, it shall continue till such date as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Rotation of seats: Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.