New Delhi: Two days after it was first announced, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, that seeks to provide 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies was passed by the Rajya Sabha unanimously on Thursday (September 21).As the Bill is a constitutional amendment, it will need to be ratified by half of the state legislatures before it can be sent for the president’s assent to become a law.The Bill was passed with 215 members voting in favour and none opposing in the Rajya Sabha debate that lasted over ten and a half hours with speeches from 72 members.While the legislation was passed, the Union government did not provide any specific timeline of when the law would be implemented, even as opposition members raised concerns about the delimitation and census clause tied to it.Earlier on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha had passed the legislation, which has been in the works for 27 years, with a two-thirds majority.Before the Bill was put to vote, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the Upper House to thank all members for their support.“Almost 132 speakers have spoken in both houses. I want to thank all members for supporting the Bill. This spirit that has been born, will create a new spirit of self confidence in the country’s consciousness,” he said.“All MPs, and political parties have played an important role…and this itself will be a guarantee of our bright future.”The Bill states that one-third of seats will be reserved for women in the legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi by amending Article 239AA, in the Lok Sabha by amending Article 330, and in state legislative assemblies by amending Article 332.Source: PRS Legislative ResearchBill passed, no specific timelineDespite the unanimous support given to the legislation, the Union government failed to provide a specific timeline for its implementation.The Bill states that the “provisions relating to the reservation of seats for women…shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after [the Bill is passed] have been published.”Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her reply to concerns raised by the opposition said that the Bill is not an “election jumla”.“This bill is not a jumla. Delimitation is not an exercise to push this exercise further. Once we pass this (Bill), and the census takes place, the ball is set rolling for a delimitation commission to come into place,” she said.Referring to the freeze on the delimitation exercise till 2026, Sitharaman said that the government is “carrying a legacy”.“Why does 2026 stand out for us? We are carrying a legacy where delimitation dates have been frozen not once but twice for long periods of time. With these realities it will not be possible to implement it now. Once the census is over, and the delimitation is done, we will implement this (Bill),” she said.Earlier on Wednesday, in his speech in the Lok Sabha, home minister Amit Shah had stated that the legislation will not come into force till 2029.Reiterating the government’s position in his reply while putting the bill to vote, union minister for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “..Do not worry (about implementation)…Modi hai toh mumkin hai (With Modi, it is all possible).”In response to questions raised by the opposition about the delay in bringing in the legislation in the 9.5 years that the Modi government has been in power, Sitharaman said that there was a need to “build consensus”.“It is important that we build consensus and also show that we are committed to the economic and social empowerment of women,” she said.Sitharaman also said that in the last nine years, the government was working to uplift women socially and economically and referred to government schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, Mudra loan scheme, and incorporating women into combat roles in the armed forces.Questions over delayOpposition parties, however, questioned the delimitation and census clause and accused the government of delaying the legislation’s implementation.Leader of opposition and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a specific date for the implementation.“If you have the commitment then give us the month, give us the year (when it will be implemented. If you don’t it will be a jumla,” he said.Referring to the BJP MP’s allegations that the legislation was not passed by the UPA government despite it being passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010, Kharge said that the Modi government should rectify mistakes.“Fine…if we did not do it…okay it was our mistake but you can rectify it. Only giving bhashan (sermons) is not enough.”Former Congress MP and now independent Kapil Sibal demanded resignations from the home minister and prime minister if the implementation date is not seen through.“We want a statement from the prime minister and the home minister (on the date) and if it is not done they will resign. At least they should give an assurance at least that it will be done,” he said.Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the government for staying away from immediate implementation.“Bring the 2010 Bill which gave immediate representation. There is no law in the world that comes into effect seven years later. With this Bill we are opening the door but (telling women) we won’t give entry for the next 7.5 years. What is stopping you from immediate implementation?”Caste question and the exclusion of OBC womenLike in the Lok Sabha the previous day, opposition members in the Rajya Sabha also reiterated the demand for sub-quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes along with the inclusion of OBC women.RJD MP Manoj Jha made a strong pitch for sub-quotas on the basis of caste.“Our surname gives us our privilege…In this country, perhaps there is nothing in a name but everything is there in a surname,” he said.“According to the 2008 delimitation commission Lok Sabha has 412 general seats, 84 SC seats and 47 ST seats, Through this bill we will make this 1/3 of 84 and 47. Is this not injustice? Why are we not giving 33% across the board? Why are we not giving to SC-ST and OBC?”Jha said that the bill could still include OBC women by sending it to a select committee.Two members of the AIMIM on Wednesday were the only two MPs who had voted against the Bill in the Lok Sabha, calling it “anti-Muslim” and anti-OBC”.In the Rajya Sabha, the need for including reservation for OBC was also demanded by members of the Congress, JMM, Samajwadi Party and BSP among others.YSRCP MP Ryaga Krishnaiah said without sub-quotas, the Bill will not be meaningful.“General discrimination will come down with this bill but to reduce caste discrimination I want to suggest, provide a sub quota to OBC women. Without it this bill will not be meaningful,” he said.Adityanath, Manipur and price riseAt least two opposition members cited quotes by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath to target the BJP.TMC MP Derek O’Brien said that the question is if the BJP is serious about empowerment of women.“The struggles of women are not because of women but because of men and their outlook of women. I don’t want to waste my time on a former wrestling chief,” he said, alluding to Lok Sabha MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who was accused of sexual violence and harassment by seven female wrestlers.He then read out an alleged quote from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath from a media report that said: “People in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi cannot decide public policy. This Bill will drown the Indian political system if it goes through. If men develop feminine traits, they become Gods. If women develop feminine traits, they become rakshasas. Western ideas of women’s liberation should be properly analysed in Indian context.”Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar then asked him to provide documents to prove his claims by the course of the day.Congress MP KC Venugopal also referred to Adityanath in his speech and cited a quote from when he was Gorakhpur MP in Lok Sabha.“There is reservation for women at the local level. How does it impact the other responsibilities of women such as childcare. It should be assessed whether women’s quota affects these roles,” he quoted Adityanath as saying from a news report.“It means your attitude is that women are meant for childcare,” he said.He also referred to the two Kuki women who were paraded naked in Manipur in May during the ongoing violence in the state.“I was pained to see the women paraded naked in Manipur. The women cried in front of us..in 100 days PM had not spoken. You are talking about women empowerment..What women empowerment? Why is Nirbhaya fund unutilised? Give us the answer,” he said.“Women are in a very difficult situation in this country due to price rise…LPG gas is Rs 1000 a cylinder, petrol, tomato…price rise everywhere…their security is totally compromised,” he said.Tempers also flared in the house when O’Brien referred to Modi’s comments ahead of the West Bengal elections where he called out to West Bengal chief minister as “Didi O Didi.”Without naming Modi, O’Brien said: “The men came with money, the media, with muscle power, with misogyny and mocked her, Didi, O Didi. You even tried to smash and you broke her foot…to injure her. She gave you the answer truly like a woman, softly. The people of Bengal in India provided the answer.”Dhankar took objection to O’Brien’s comments and asked him to place documents in the house on who he meant as “the men”.