'Historic': Women MPs set aside political differences to hail passage of reservation bill, thank PM Modi

 The Parliament on Thursday passed a historic bill that will reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. Several women from different political parties put aside their differences to unequivocally describe the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill as "historic." 

As the women's reservation bill cleared its final legislative hurdle at the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Union Minister Smriti Irani hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the legislative feat only goes to show that "Modi hai toh mumkin hai" is not a mere saying. "We have often come across the saying Modi hai toh mumkin hai. Today, the PM has again proved that these aren't hollow words," she told to news agency ANI. 

BJP MP Diya Kumari also thanked Prime Minister Modi, saying, "Women are celebrating today. We are very happy with the passage of this bill. PM Modi has finally made this dream come true. This piece of legislation was the need of the hour and he (PM Modi) realised it. He spearheaded efforts to have the Bill tabled and passed in all of two days."

Congress MP Joshimani, too, expressed her enthusiasm over the passage of the bill, saying, "We are happy that this important piece of legislation is finally close to seeing the light of day." However, she flagged concerns over the implementation of the bill, saying, "It is sad, however, that the law may not be implemented anytime soon." Another Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan termed the passage of the Bill as historic. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi also thanked the MPs for supporting the legislation. Unlike the Lok Sabha, where two of the 456 MPs present in the House had voted against the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, all the 214 lawmakers present in the Rajya Sabha voted in its favour on Thursday. The 128th Constitution amendment bill, referred to as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, will now require the approval of a majority of state assemblies.