Daily Briefing: Women’s Reservation Bill defeated in Lok Sabha; high-stakes drama unfolds in Parliament

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Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT Good morning! As fresh diplomatic efforts intensify to reduce tensions in West Asia, Iranian sources have told CNN that the US and Iranian delegations are expected to arrive in Pakistan this weekend and hold another round of negotiations on Monday (April 20). Negotiators are likely to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday, they said. However, the US hasn’t confirmed it. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s administration has issued a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month. The announcement comes as the US attempts to control global energy prices that have risen higher amid the war. Follow here to receive the latest updates on the war. With that, let’s move on to the top five stories from today’s edition: For the first time in 12 years, a constitutional amendment bill introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government fell in the Parliament. After a marathon two-day debate, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeking to advance reservation of 33% seats for women in an expanded Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and facilitate delimitation of constituencies, stood defeated in the Lower House. Of the 528 members present in the House, 298 voted in favour of the Bill and 230 opposed it, – short of the two-thirds majority needed for a Constitutional amendment Bill to clear the House. Uncertainty, brinkmanship, theatrics, and a decisive fall on the floor of the Lok Sabha: What underwent on Friday in the Lower House of the Parliament over the government’s Constitution amendment on delimitation successfully served as a spectacle. Back-channel parleys between the ruling party and the Opposition, hurried huddles of top BJP leaders, and vociferous protests inside the House kept the temperature high. By the time Union Home Minister Amit Shah rose to speak ahead of voting, there was little doubt left about the Bill’s fate — but not about the government’s resolve to push it to the vote. Here’s what all happened on the day the Centre suffered its first major legislative defeat. In our Opinion section today, Pratap Bhanu Mehta reflects on the power of a united Opposition, which led to the Modi government’s first legislative loss on Friday. Referring to the defeat as “permanent revolution,” Mehta writes: “The Opposition has won an opening. But if it is to continue the momentum on behalf of democracy, it will have to go into constant mobilisation and convince citizens that it stands for genuine democratic empowerment and institutional integrity. Discussions of democracy and institutions must now be rescued from the taint of opportunism and bad faith. The permanent revolution has been thwarted. But democracy is still in peril.” When the Lok Sabha debated the 33% reservation for women in Parliament and Assemblies this week, it was attempting to catch up with a transformation sparked decades ago in India’s villages. It was when the 73rd Constitutional amendment of 1993 mandated 33% reservation for women in panchayats. Since then, most states have raised the quota to 50% across all tiers of the panchayati raj system. The villages in Haryana have covered a long distance, although through small, slow gains, as several women continue to test the boundaries laid out for them on various occasions. From Kashmiri, who went from being a child bride to pursuing a PhD, to fiercely independent Sunita Devi, who has an opinion, here are the stories of women serving as leaders from one such village. As a constitution amendment bill concerning women’s reservation gets defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, an analysis of past numbers shows that in terms of representation, the share of women has rarely breached the 15% mark across legislatures. From the first Lok Sabha (1951-52), when there were 24 women MPs out of a total 489 (4.9%), the figure for the 18th Lok Sabha (2024-29) — stands at 75 out of a total 543 (13.6%). And, out of 190 countries, India ranked 147 in terms of women’s representation in Lower Houses of Parliament. Here we delve into the history of women’s representation in Parliament and state Assemblies over the years, through 4 crucial charts. In our Opinion section today, Manoj Pant delves into the real winner in the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran, as he goes on to suggest that the war was effectively over. Pant writes: “At the same time, Europe and the Gulf will rearm, spooked by recent events. That, too, benefits China’s vast industrial base, as well as America’s. War, it turns out, is still good business. Markets do not trade in ideology. They trade in stability, access, and supply chains. And that is why China has already won. Not on the battlefield. But in the only arena that now truly matters.” Wondering what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered! Bhoot Bangla hit the theatres on Friday, with Akshay Kumar bringing the haunted palace, and fresh shenanigans of past and present bhooths back to the screens. The way the crazy energies come together in the film makes it such a “nostalgic bomb,” writes Shubhra Gupta in her review. However, it left Gupta missing Monjulika! She writes: “Tabu comes on and lights up the screen, but the joy is short-lived. On come the tantra-mantra-laden havans, and Akshay gets to fight demons so patently CGI that you yearn for the old bhoots-in-white-saris who used to roam around havelis singing songs.” That’s it for today! Have a lovely weekend!