207 votes in favour, 126 opposes; Permission to introduce bills including women's reservation

NEW DELHI: Three historic bills to implement 33 percent women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and Assembly, delimitation of constituencies, and increase the number of seats in Union Territories have been approved in Parliament. The permission was obtained through a vote. Out of 333 MPs, 207 voted in favour and 126 voted against. The voting took place amidst strong opposition protests. The government plans to implement reservation before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Home Minister Amit Shah will introduce the bills in the Lok Sabha. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that there will be a 12-hour discussion on the three bills and the vote on the bills will be held at 4 pm tomorrow. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the discussion can be extended up to 18 hours if necessary. The bill seeks to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 850 to implement 33 percent women's reservation in the 2029 elections. The opposition had decided to oppose this unanimously in a meeting held the other day. The move is to rearrange the number of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies based on the 2011 census. The central government has decided to move forward, ignoring the opposition's objections. It was earlier hinted that the number of Lok Sabha and assembly seats in all states will be increased by 50 percent for women's reservation.