Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 850
The Women’s Reservation Bill is to be introduced in Parliament on Thursday. According to news agency PTI, the bill seeks to “functionalise” the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the number of members of the lower house to 850 from the current 543.
The government plans to introduce the Constitution Amendment Bill, the Delimitation Bill and the Enabling Bill for Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry — the three Union Territories with legislation — in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to speed up the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023.
How does the account work?
The Women’s Reservation Act states that out of the 850 members of the Lok Sabha, 815 members will represent the States and 35 members will represent the Union Territories.
“The House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall consist of not more than 815 members elected by direct election from territorial constituencies in the States; and not more than 35 members representing Union Territories, elected in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe,” the bill said, according to PTI.
The bill seeks to amend Article 81 of the Constitution, which defines the composition of the Lok Sabha.
As per the broad contours available, reservation will also be made on ‘vertical basis’ with seats allotted to SCs and STs.
How will the 850 electoral districts be drawn?
It had already been decided that constituencies would be drawn based on delimitation. However, this provision has been changed in the latest version of the Women’s Reservation Act.
The redrawing of constituencies will now be based on the 2011 census rather than the proposed 2027 census. For the redrawing of constituencies, the bill seeks to take into account the 2011 census data, PTI reported. As of now, data from the 2011 census is available.
According to the draft law, the term “population” means the number of inhabitants determined in such a census for which relevant data has been published.
“The next census and the subsequent delimitation will take considerable time, thereby delaying the effective and committed participation of women in our democratic polity,” the bill states.
“The proposed Act therefore aims to operationalize one-third reservation for women, including women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in the House of the People and in the State Legislative Assemblies, in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory through a delimitation exercise to be carried out on the basis of the population of the latest published Census Reasons Bill.”
Parliament will reconvene on April 16
The budget session of Parliament was adjourned on April 2. However, Parliament will reconvene on April 16 after a short break to pass bills to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 so that the Women’s Reservation Act can be implemented as soon as possible.
