New Delhi:

A Bill to ensure the reservation of 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies has been cleared by the Union cabinet this evening during a key meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.

BJP leader Khushbu Sundar asserted that “nari-shakti is the way forward”.

What a historical moment!! Women reservation bill cleared! Where our PM @narendramodi ji is working for women empowerment, others keep bringing women down. Nari shakti is the way forward. Women have to be in the forefront, they are the back bone of our nation. Only a true son of…

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) September 18, 2023

“What a historical moment!! Women’s reservation bill cleared! Where our PM Narendra Modi ji is working for women’s empowerment, others keep bringing women down. Nari shakti is the way forward. Women have to be in the forefront, they are the backbone of our nation. Only a true son of the nation understands the pain of a woman. And our Honourable PM proves that yet again. Heartfelt thank you to Pradhan Mantri ji. Women of our nation are indebted to you for always standing by her and allowing her to grow and fly high,” Ms Sundar said.

Reacting to this, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that it has been a long-standing demand of the Congress to implement women’s reservation, as he replugged a previous post chronicling the “history behind the move”.

It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and… https://t.co/lVI9RLHVY6

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 18, 2023

“It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Mr Ramesh’s tweet drew sharp criticism from Ms Sundar, who joined the BJP from Congress in 2020. “Those who sit in the Opposition trying to take credit on Women’s Reservation Bill should be ashamed of themselves. They did nothing but make noise. Empty vessels make noise. What did you do when in power for so many years??” she asked.

Much needed bill that ought to have been passed a long time ago. https://t.co/W4zdbNIDHt

— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) September 18, 2023

Entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that the Women’s Reservation Bill is a “much-needed bill that ought to have been passed a long time ago”.