Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 18 : The CPI(M) affiliated All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) on Saturday met Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Vinay Kumar in Shimla to seek the party's support for the immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation legislation providing 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
AIDWA leaders urged the Congress as well as other opposition parties to support the legislation in its original form during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament and demanded that its implementation should not be linked to the completion of the Census and the subsequent delimitation exercise.
Speaking to ANI after the meeting at the Congress headquarters, AIDWA Himachal Pradesh State Secretary Pharma Chauhan said the HPCC chief had assured the delegation that the demand was genuine and would be conveyed to the party leadership for raising in Parliament.
"We met the Pradesh Congress President, who assured us that our demand is genuine and that it would be taken up before the party leadership for raising in the Lok Sabha," Chauhan said.
She alleged that although the women's reservation legislation was passed in the name of women's empowerment nearly three years ago, it has still not been implemented.
"It is unfortunate that despite the passage of the legislation, it has not been implemented. Today, only around 70 women represent nearly half the country's population in Parliament. If 33 per cent reservation were implemented, about 183 women would be elected to the 543-member Lok Sabha. In Himachal Pradesh too, at least 23 women would become public representatives in the State Assembly," she said.
Chauhan said women's organisations across the country were demanding that the Centre delink the implementation of the reservation law from the Census and delimitation process and enforce it immediately.
"The Census and delimitation conditions should be removed. The legislation should be implemented without any further delay," she said.
She said AIDWA, along with several women's organisations, had launched a nationwide campaign in support of the demand.
According to Chauhan, women representatives from across the country will be holding an indefinite protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from July 20 to August 13. She said signature campaigns would be conducted across Himachal Pradesh, memorandums would be submitted to political parties, and demonstrations would be organised across the state.
"We will hold protests in Himachal Pradesh on July 21 and also submit our memorandum at Raj Bhavan as part of the nationwide campaign seeking immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation law," she added.
Responding to the delegation's demand, HPCC President Vinay Kumar reiterated that the Congress has consistently supported women's reservation and said the party would forward the demand to its national leadership.
"The Congress has always stood with women and will continue to support them. We will convey the delegation's demand to our high command and seek that the legislation passed earlier be implemented in its original form," Vinay Kumar said.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, also known as the Women's Reservation Bill, was passed in Parliament in September 2023. The legislation provides for a 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
However, its implementation was linked to the first delimitation exercise after the next Census. In an effort to advance the implementation of the quota before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, the Centre introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in April 2026 to expedite the delimitation process.
The Bill, however, failed to secure the constitutionally mandated two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session. It received 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the numbers required for the passage of a constitutional amendment, resulting in its defeat.