On Day 2, the discussion on the Women’s Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) continued, with Opposition parties, including Congress and Trinamool Congress, extending their support to the Bill. However, trading of barbs between the Centre and the Opposition persisted as the BJP-led Centre was criticised for bringing the Bill after “13 years” since it was first passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
Sonia Gandhi, the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, led her party’s debate on the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress had dubbed the introduction of the Bill as an “election jumla” and “a huge betrayal of the hopes of women”. During the first day’s agenda of the five-day special session in Parliament, the Union government introduced the Bill, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “This historic day of 19th September 2023 is going to be immortal in the history of India.” Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the Bill in the inaugural sitting of the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. He emphasised that the government is taking a step towards women’s empowerment by proposing a new Bill to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Meghwal further explained that once the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is passed, the number of seats for women in the Lok Sabha will increase to 181. Meanwhile, the old Parliament building will now be known as ‘Samvidhan Sadan’, as announced by PM Modi during his address in the Central Hall on Tuesday. He made this suggestion to the presiding officers of the two Houses, and later in the day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla issued an official notification confirming the renaming of the old Parliament building.
