Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: Important step towards women empowerment

The Bharatiya Janata Party government is committed to women empowerment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated from time to time that his government will make every possible effort for the empowerment of women. Nari Shakti Vandan Act is the result of this effort. Recently, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the Women’s Reservation Bill 2023 or Nari Shakti Vandan Act. The bill reserves one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said about the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in the Rajya Sabha on September 21, 2023, that this very important bill is being discussed in detail for two days. About 132 honorable members have held a very meaningful discussion in both the houses together and in the future too, every word of this discussion is going to be useful to all of us in our upcoming journey and hence every thing has its own importance and value. . I, all the honorable MPs, have already said in the beginning of my speech that we support this and for this I wholeheartedly congratulate everyone and express my heartfelt gratitude. This spirit that has arisen will create a new self-confidence among the people of the country and all of us honorable MPs and all the political parties have played a very important role. It is not the case that women power is getting special respect just because the bill is passed. The positive thinking of all the political parties of the country towards this bill is going to give a new energy to the women power of our country. It will come forward with leadership in contributing to nation building with a new confidence, this in itself is going to be the guarantee of our bright future.

He thanked all the Rajya Sabha MPs who voted in support of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. He said that this is a defining moment in the democratic journey of our country. He congratulated the 140 crore citizens of the country. He stressed that this is not just a law, but an honor to the countless women who have built our country, and it is a historic step in our commitment to ensure that their voices are heard more effectively.

Earlier, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah participated in the discussion on Nari Shakti Vandan Act in the Lok Sabha. Speaking in the discussion, Amit Shah had said that the day of 19 September 2023 will be written in golden letters in the history of the Indian Parliament, because on this day, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, work took place in the new Parliament for the first time and the right of reservation for women, which was pending for years, was given. The giving bill was presented in the House. He said that he wants to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi wholeheartedly that the Prime Minister has done the work of truly honoring the mother power which constitutes 50 percent of the population of 140 crores.

She said that women empowerment may be a political agenda for some parties but for the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, women empowerment is an issue of recognition. He said that in 2014, the great people of the country decided to form a government with full majority under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji after 30 years. Women’s safety, respect and participation have been the breath and soul of the government under the leadership of Narendra Modi since the day he took over as Prime Minister.

He said that women are more powerful than men and this bill will now ensure women’s participation in decision and policy making. He said that the Modi government has brought this bill to correct the errors in the social system, to increase the participation of women and to respect them. He said that today is such an opportunity when this House needs to give a message to the entire world that the entire House is unanimous in fulfilling Modi ji’s vision of ‘Women Led Development’.

He said that four attempts have been made by previous governments to bring Women’s Reservation Bill. He said that the Women’s Reservation Bill was first brought by the Deve Gowda government in 1996, after which it was given to a committee headed by Seema Mukherjee and the committee also gave its report but that bill never reached this House. He said that after this, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government brought this bill in 1998, but the opposition did not allow it to be presented in the House. He said that after this, Atal ji’s government once again brought the bill but once again it could not be discussed. He said that after this, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government again brought the amendment bill in the Rajya Sabha, where after being passed, this bill could not come in the Lok Sabha.

He requested all the members of the party and the opposition to come together and through this new beginning, today unanimously work to amend the Constitution and provide reservation to the mother power. He said that as per the current provision, the Modi government has given 33 percent reservation to women in all three categories of members elected to Parliament – ​​General (which includes OBCs), Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He said that provision for women’s reservation has been made through Section 330 (A) and Section 332 (A) of this constitutional amendment. Along with this, one-third seats have been reserved for women by giving vertical reservation in all three categories. He said that the Delimitation Commission is a legal provision of an important body that determines the election process of our country and it is done by appointment but there are quasi judicial proceedings. He said that it is headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court and it also has a representative of the Election Commissioner. He said that one-third of the seats to be reserved will be selected by the Delimitation Commission. This commission goes to every state and gives open hearings and decides the policy for this in a transparent manner. He said that the only objective behind bringing Delimitation Commission is to bring transparency. He said that there will be no delay with the formation of this commission, after the elections both census and delimitation will be done and soon the day will come when one-third of the women MPs will sit in this House and decide the fate of the country.

It is noteworthy that the Women’s Reservation Bill has been discussed since the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the year 1996. But this bill could not be approved as the then government did not have majority. Since this time the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the center is with full majority. Therefore this bill was passed easily. With the passing of this bill, its politicization also came to an end. Undoubtedly, the implementation of this bill will increase women’s participation in politics.

– Dr. Priyanka Nitin Verma

The author is a dentist by profession and is active in social work.