Explainer: Women's Reservation Bill – All you need to know
New Delhi: The Indian government has introduced the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2023, aimed at providing 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) and all state Legislative Assemblies. includes reserving one-third of seats allocated for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and an equivalent proportion of seats in the general category.
Implementation Timeline:
The law, if passed, is expected to come into effect by 2029. According to the Bill's provisions, the reservation of seats will be implemented after the completion of the delimitation exercise based on the first Census conducted after the Bill's passage. The next Census is anticipated in 2027. Delays in Census activities were experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reservation quota mentioned in the Women's Reservation Bill pertains to a government-mandated allocation of a certain percentage of seats or positions for a specific group or category within legislative bodies. In this case, the Bill focuses on reserving seats for women within the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies.
33% Reservation for Women:
The Bill proposes a reservation of 33% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament) and all state Legislative Assemblies for women. This means that one-third of the seats in these legislative bodies would be exclusively allocated to women candidates.
Reservation for SC/ST Women:
The reservation quota extends to seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). This implies that within the reserved seats for SC and ST categories, one-third will be reserved for women belonging to these communities.
Reservation in the General Category:
Additionally, the Bill aims to reserve one-third of seats in the general category for women candidates. These are seats that are not specifically designated for SC or ST candidates. The term "as nearly as possible" is used to indicate that the allocation will be made as closely as possible to one-third of the total general category seats.
Duration of Reservation:
The Bill stipulates that the reservation of seats for women will be applicable for 15 years from the commencement of the Act. However, Parliament has the authority to extend this duration further if deemed necessary.
Exclusions:
Importantly, the reservation quota does not apply to the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) or state Legislative Councils. The focus of the Bill is on the directly elected lower house (Lok Sabha) and lower houses of state legislatures (Legislative Assemblies).
Absence of OBC Reservation:
Notably, the Bill does not include a reservation provision for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This omission is because no such legislative provision currently exists for OBC reservation in these legislative bodies. The absence of OBC reservation in the Bill has been a point of contention, with parties like the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) opposing the women's reservation Bill on these grounds for several years.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
