'Empowerment' Vs 'Jumla': How Political Leaders Reacted After Women's Quota Bill Passed LS Hurdle

After an eight-hour long debate, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in Lok Sabha with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.

Union Minister Smriti Irani, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: Amid Opposition demands to extend similar benefits to OBC and immediate implementation of the legislation, the Lok Sabha passed the Women’s Reservation Bill with near unanimity on Wednesday. After an eight-hour long debate, the Bill was passed with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.

Terming the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' a “historic legislation”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed delight over the passage of the Bill in the Lower House.

Here’s how leaders across parties reacted:

• Taking to X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote, “It is a historic leap for our nation as the Lok Sabha passes the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' today. The Bill envisaged by PM Modi will not only script a new chapter in the history of women's empowerment but also foster equitable and gender-inclusive development in our nation. It yet again reiterates the Modi government's commitment to women-led governance.”
• Hailing the passage of the Bill, Union Minister Smriti Irani said, “What a better way to begin Parliamentary innings for any parliamentarian than with the passage of a bill that crores of women were waiting for.”
• Thanking PM Modi, BJP leader Aparna Yadav, speaking to ANI said, “I thank PM Modi from the bottom of my heart…this Bill was pending for such a long time…I have to say that ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’…I thank the Opposition also for supporting this Bill.”
• Terming the development as a “new chapter in women empowerment”, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “This is a new chapter in women empowerment. Many greetings and congratulations to PM Modi. Women's Reservation Bill has just passed in the Lok Sabha. Now on 33% of seats in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, women can contest elections. This is a campaign to change lives.”
• Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told ANI, "It makes me happy and emotional...We have lived up to that commitment...It is something I welcome."
• Congratulating the women on the milestone achievement, BRS MLC K Kavitha, speaking to ANI, said, “This will certainly enrich our country. We are a huge nation, we are a democracy. Participation of women is going to increase the quality of the debate... Not giving space to OBC women is painful... It is a big step for our women, we should celebrate and continue the fight for our OBC sisters.”
• Union Minister Anurag Thakur told ANI, "All political parties have supported this Bill and we thank them for this...I hope, unanimously this Bill will get passed in Rajya Sabha also and we can make history."
• While welcoming the passage of the Bill, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said there were lingering concerns around its implementation as the government has not set a date on the census and delimitation exercise. Speaking to ANI, he said, “It is good that the bill got passed but we have concerns, it is a bit of a jumla (gimmick) because of reference to delimitation and census, neither of it has been scheduled, which makes it very unclear when this(bill) will actually be implemented.”
• Voting against the Women's Reservation Bill, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, "There are 7% Muslim women in the Indian population and their representation is 0.7%. We voted against the Bill so that they would know that there were two MPs who were fighting for the inclusion of the OBC and the Muslim women.”