‘It will be a grave injustice if delayed’: PM Modi urges support for women’s reservation bill ahead of parliament session

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a detailed letter to women in India dedicated to ‘Nari Shakti’ and reiterated the government’s push for reservation of seats for women in the legislative bodies. The Prime Minister published the letter onPosting the letter on X, the Prime Minister said women across the country appreciated the move to ensure their representation, calling it a long-pending reform.

In his letter, Prime Minister Modi paid tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his birth anniversary and recalled his contribution to nation-building and constitutional values.The Prime Minister said that Parliament will reconvene on April 16 to consider the constitutional amendments related to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and expressed hope that the amendments will be passed. He added that women across the country are “tremendously enthusiastic” about the prospect of being more involved in shaping ‘Viksit Bharat’.In his letter, the Prime Minister highlighted the growing influence of women in start-ups, science, innovation, academia, the arts and sport, describing it as one of the most significant developments in recent years. He pointed out that Indian female athletes are winning medals, breaking records and inspiring the younger generation.He also pointed to grassroots efforts such as self-help groups and ‘Lakhpati Didis’ as examples of scaling up women-led empowerment and self-reliance across the country.Prime Minister Modi said the issue has been widely shared for decades but has yet to be reached to a “logical conclusion”. He mentioned Vallabhbhai Patel’s early efforts to reserve seats for women and contrasted India’s early adoption of equal voting rights with delays in other countries.Looking ahead to 2047, when India will celebrate 100 years of independence, the Prime Minister said that in order to achieve the goals of a developed nation, women’s participation in decision-making is “absolutely non-negotiable”. This principle guided the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 and laid the foundation for the current push for constitutional amendments, he added.“Then, when the people of India work towards realizing the dream of ‘Viksit Bharat’, let us ensure that the aspirations of the Nari Shakti of India, who constitute almost half of India’s population, get justice. When they become active participants in policy formulation and decision-making, the journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat’ will be strengthened,” he wrote.The Prime Minister stressed that timely implementation was crucial and said further delays would be “unfortunate” and unfair to women. “It is important that we all come together to ensure women’s representation in letter and spirit in the legislative bodies at the earliest. If the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and various parliamentary elections that year are held with adequate women’s reservation in place, our democracy will become stronger and more vibrant.” To this end, Parliament is about to pass legislation. Any further delay would be unfortunate and a grave injustice to the women of India,” the Prime Minister wrote.He also said that if the legislation is passed, the 2029 elections could be held with full reservations for women in place, while he also urged citizens, especially women, to write to their local MPs in support of the measure and described the upcoming parliamentary proceedings as historic.