Women's reservation bill fails floor test in Lok Sabha as NDA falls short of two-thirds majority

NEW DELHI: The women’s reservation bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, as it failed to secure the required two-thirds majority after two days of intense debate over the bill and the proposed delimitation exercise.The Constitution Amendment Bill could not pass, with the ruling NDA falling short of the numbers needed to push the “Nari Bill” through. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "The Constitution (131st Amendment) Amendment Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House."The debate saw sharp exchanges in the House. Union home mnister Amit Shah labelled the opposition as “anti-women” for opposing the bill.On the other hand, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi called the bill “anti-national.” Several other Opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi, also raised strong objections.A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to legislators not to politicise the bill during his address on the issue.The BJP-led Centre has decided to move ahead with the Delimitation Bill and a separate bill to amend women’s quota in Union Territories after the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill.The Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing 33% reservation for women in legislatures from 2029 and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday.The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against. Out of 528 members who voted, it needed at least 352 votes to secure the required two-thirds majority.The proposal sought to expand the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 850 seats from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law ahead of the 2029 general elections, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.It also proposed increasing seats in state assemblies and Union Territory legislatures to accommodate the 33% reservation for women.