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| - Sharing a clip of her speech at Himachal Pradesh’s Balh valley, Bollywood actor and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi Kangana Ranaut claimed that she was able to contest for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due to the Women's Reservation Bill.
"I, a daughter of Mandi, got this stage because of the Women's Reservation Bill, which gives 30 percent of women reservation."Kangana Ranaut in Balh Valley, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.
She shared the same clip on her Facebook page too, an archived version of of which can be seen here.
But…?: Ranaut’s claim is factually incorrect as the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was passed by the Parliament in September 2023, has not been implemented yet.
How did we find out?: We looked for credible news reports on the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill – which would reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women – but did not find any recent ones.
As per a report by The Wire, published two days after the Bill was unanimously passed in the Rajya Sabha on 20 September 2023, no date had been set for its implementation.
It carried statements by Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Amit Shah, which highlighted that there was no set timeline for its implementation either.
What does the Bill say?: The Quint accessed the document of the Bill on the Parliament's website.
It stated that the provisions related to the reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi “shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published…”
It added that the reservation would be valid for a period of 15 years after its implementation.
This clarifies that the delimitation – which refers to the change in the total number of Parliamentary and Assembly seats, based on population – can only take place after the overdue decadal census, which was due in 2021.
“Based on this fresh census, the delimitation will take place, and based on ths delimitation, the constituencies for women will be chosen,” human rights litigator Rohin Bhatt told The Quint, while commenting on the Bill being passed in an older report.
2026 or 2029? What the Home Minister says: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while speaking in the Lok Sabha, had addressed questions about the Bill’s implementation, the delimitation, and why it would happen after 2026.
Shah’s explanation can be heard starting at the 31:18-minute mark in this video published on the Parliament’s official YouTube channel.
“People raised questions…why don’t we implement it immediately? Why form a delimitation commission? Why 2026? I want to respond to each of these questions one-by-one,” Shah asked.
He explained the formation of a delimitation commission, and how it was made up of members such as retired Supreme Court judges, representatives of the Election Commission and various political parties, among others. Shah said that the commission is formed “by appointment, but is a quasi-judicial proceeding.”
Shah mentioned that it was important for the delimitation commission to identify constituencies for reservation, so as to ensure transparency and non-partisanship.
“Now, if we have to reserve a third of the seats, then who will decide on those seats? When people question why don’t we implement it immediately, should we? Then if Wayanad gets reserved, what will you do? You will accuse us of being political. If Owaisi sahab’s Hyderabad gets reserved, you will say that it is a political reservation," he asked, while mentioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's constituency in Kerala.
He went on to ask why people had built narratives against the Bill, asking people to not support it on social media.
“ I want to ask, will the reservation happen sooner if you don’t show support for it? It will come after ‘29 regardless. If you support it, it gets guaranteed, and the government that comes into power then (2029) can also make changes to it. At least take the first step to start it.”Union Home Minister Amit Shah
This statement, along with the clause specified in the Bill itself, establish that the Bill has not been implemented yet, and is not likely to be implemented before 2029.
Conclusion: Kangana Ranaut falsely claimed that she was able to get a BJP ticket to contest for the Lok Sabha elections from Mandi because the Women’s Reservation Bill had come into effect and allowed her to do so.
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