Maharashtra deputy CM Sunetra Pawar slams Opposition over women’s reservation bill failure

Maharashtra Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar at Special Parliament session. Pic/PTI

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Opposition after the Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislative bodies failed in the Lok Sabha. She described the incident as a "shameful day" for democracy.

In a post on X, Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, said the movement for women's reservation would not stop despite the setback. She added that "Nari Shakti will respond."

She accused opposition parties of deliberately blocking the bill and said this showed an "anti-women mindset." According to her, those who speak about women's empowerment have themselves harmed women's rights by not supporting the proposal.

She also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for consensus, saying that rejecting it was not just about political pride but also "an injustice to the women of the country."

What the bill proposed

The Constitution Amendment Bill sought to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies. It also proposed increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to a maximum of 850 to accommodate the quota after a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Similarly, state legislative assemblies and Union Territory assemblies were to see an increase in seats to ensure proper implementation of women's reservation. The bill was intended to "operationalise" the women's reservation law.

Voting results in Lok Sabha

The bill was debated and put to vote in the Lower House.

-298 MPs voted in favour
-230 MPs voted against
-Total votes cast: 528
-Required majority for passage: 352 votes (two-thirds majority)

Despite securing a simple majority, the bill could not be passed due to the constitutional requirement for a special majority, reported PTI.

Sunetra Pawar said the issue of women's reservation is not over and insisted that the movement for women's political representation will continue despite the setback.

(With PTI Inputs)