NEW DELHI, Apr 17: In a major setback to the Modi Government, a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to operationalise the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
This was for the first time a bill under the Modi government was defeated in Parliament.
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