In a recent public address, actor Kangana Ranaut claimed that she received the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ticket to contest elections from the Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh because of the Women’s Reservation Bill. It is a false claim because the bill has not been brought into effect yet.
On 24 March 2024, the BJP announced Ranaut’s candidature for the Lok Sabha polls. “I abide by the high command’s decision on contesting Lok Sabha polls,” she wrote on X while adding that she looks forward to being a “worthy Karyakarta (party worker) and a reliable public servant.”
During a recent public address in Mandi’s Balh village, Ranaut spoke about how she was granted the ticket. “The Women’s Reservation Bill, which grants 30% reservation to women (in the Lok Sabha) is the reason why I have this stage today. Because of that, your daughter from Mandi has this stage.” She posted a reel of the speech on her Instagram account.
Fact check
BOOM found that her claim is false and the Women’s Reservation Bill has not yet been implemented and will not be so until at least 2029. The Bill, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and legislative state assemblies for women. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023, 27 years after it was first introduced in Parliament.
On 22 September, the Rajya Sabha, too, passed the Bill unanimously. Having been passed in both houses, the bill now needed the President’s assent, which was given on 28 September. This meant that the Bill fulfilled all requirements to become a law. However, it would be brought into effect only after the Census and delimitation exercises were complete. A delimitation exercise involves allotting the number of seats as well as boundaries of territorial constituencies across the country for Lok Sabha and state elections.
This exercise is set to take place based on the Census released after 2026. The Centre has not yet concluded the 2021 Census due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While speaking in the Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023, Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah said that the delimitation exercise would be conducted only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and it would be at least until 2029 that the Women’s Reservation Bill is implemented.
Several Opposition leaders at the time criticised this method used to implement the Bill. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi Marlena said, “Why have the provisions of delimitation and Census been included? This means that women’s reservation won’t be implemented ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. We demand that the provisions of delimitation and Census be done away with and the women’s reservation be implemented for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.”
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi had said that the reservation could be easily extended for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Stop this tokenism. This bill is called Nari Shakti Vandhan Bill. Stop saluting us. We don’t want to be saluted, put on a pedestal, or worshipped. We want to be respected as equals,” she added.
This story was originally published by BOOM, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, excerpt and introduction para, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.