Rajya Sabha passes historic Women's reservation bill

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the historic Women’s Reservation Bill that reserves 33 per cent legislative seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

14 years after the first attempt was made in the Lok Sabha and repeated failures subsequently, the Constitution amendment bill was adopted in the mandatory division with 186 members voting for it and one voting against.

The bill seeks to reserve for women 181 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in the 28 State Assemblies.

Prime Minister called the bill as historic and assured the members that it is not against SC, ST and minorities.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi further said it is a great step for empowerment of women