The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, intended to implement one-third women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assembly, failed to get the nod in the Lower House. The Bill fell short of the two-third majority of 352, out of the total 528 members present in the Lok Sabha.

 

During voting on the Bill, 298 MPs voted in favour of it and 230 against the bill. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the results of the voting, saying that it is not possible to move forward with this legislation as it failed to get the required majority for its passage.

 

Following this, the women MPs of the NDA alliance staged a protest in the Parliament complex against the opposition parties.

 

Afterwards, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of losing the opportunity to provide reservations to women.

 

Taking a dig at the opposition alliance, Home Minister Amit Shah said that they have always backed down in decisions to give rights to women. Home Minister also criticised opposition parties for celebrating the failure of the bill. In a social media post, Mr Shah said, ‘This celebration by the opposition is an insult to every woman who has been waiting for her rights for decades.”

 

Earlier, participating in the discussion, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is not a women’s reservation bill and it has nothing to do with the empowerment of women. 

 

Later, the House was adjourned to meet again at 11 AM today.