New Delhi, April 10 BJP national president Nitin Nabina held a meeting here on Friday with the party's state unit presidents and other key office bearers to discuss a plan for public outreach regarding the proposed amendments to the Women's Reservation Act.
The meeting took place ahead of the three-day extended session of Parliament, during which the proposed amendments to the Act are likely to be put up for consideration and passage.
The government has extended the Budget session of Parliament, and a special three-day session will be held from April 16 to 18.
It is learnt that the Union Cabinet had cleared the draft bill for amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, also known as the Women's Reservation Act, on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The provision for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was introduced by amending the Constitution in 2023, but it would have come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise based on the 2027 Census. Therefore, it was expected to come into effect only in 2034 if the existing law remains as it is.
According to the available information, with the proposed amendments, the number of Lok Sabha seats would increase from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation would also be implemented on a "vertical basis," with seats allocated for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The redrawing of constituencies will be based on the 2011 census, rather than the proposed 2027 Census.
A similar exercise will be carried out for state assemblies, where seats will be reserved on a pro-rata basis.
While a Constitution amendment bill will modify the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, another ordinary bill will amend the Delimitation Act.
Once approved by Parliament, the proposed laws will come into effect on March 31, 2029, and will help reserve seats in the next Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections in Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Andhra Pradesh.