New Delhi:
The government has convened an all-party meeting today to find a way out of the stalemate over the Women's Reservation Bill that has met with strong opposition from the Yadav trio - Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav - who have been demanding a quota within quota for women from backward communities and minorities.
The Bill which has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha is expected to be taken up for consideration in the Lower House when it resumes budget session on April 15.
The government is keen on pushing ahead with the Bill but is said to be averse to using force for the purpose because of the stature of the opponents.
In the Rajya Sabha, marshals were used to remove obstructing members but the decision came in for severe attack later.
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said last week that the government is going ahead with the Bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha in the second phase of the Budget session beginning April 15. He denied that there would be any changes in the Bill.
"On a matter which has such a large volume of bipartisan support, strategy should be discussed, they should be fine tuned. I don't see any reason why there should be problems of a fundamental nature. Details can be worked out. If you don't have such meetings then you are accused of not carrying other parties with you, if you do have them, questions start arising. The approach is to have a constructive solution and have a bottom line result, to get the Bill passed," said Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, National Spokesperson, Congress.
The opponents of the bill have made it clear that the Bill in its present form would be opposed tooth and nail and they may be open for discussion if the government comes with dilution of the percentage of reservation or leaving the quota for decision by parties.
The three parties Samajwadi Party, JD(U) and RJD, whose leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad are members in the Lok Sabha, have indicated that they will oppose the Bill tooth and nail in the House.
"We will not oppose reservation. We will stick to our old stand of reservation within reservation. The Bill must include reservation for Muslim women, women from backward classes and the Dalit community," said Lalu Prasad Yadav, President, RJD.
Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "We have opposed the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form. We are not opposed to reservation for women. The Bill calls for rotation after 30 years. Assuming that there are 542 seats, then women will fight for over 181-182 seats. In this case only 52 per cent of men will be able to contest elections."
Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Mohan Singh said that his party continues to oppose the Bill in its present form "and we don't see any perceivable change in the government's stand towards our demand".
Singh further said his party had earlier suggested that all parties should give a maximum of 20 per cent tickets to women candidates and recognition of those parties, which fail to do so, should be cancelled.
"The government initially accepted our suggestion only to reject it later," he said.
He added that "I don't see anything coming out of the meeting... However, Mulayam Singhji is in regular contact with both Laluji and Sharadji and all the three parties are united in their opposition to the Bill".
Singh said that Samajwadi Party has also been asking for reservation for Dalit and Muslim women, but this demand has also never been heeded by the government.
"The government managed to get its Bill cleared in Rajya Sabha with the help of the influential class. However if the government brings it to Lok Sabha in its present form, then we will oppose it," the Samajwadi Party general secretary said.
The Bill has evoked sharp opposition from the Yadav trio, who have been demanding a quota within quota for women from backward communities and minorities. Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad have threatened to withdraw support if the government pushes the bill in its present form.
Dishing out a somewhat controversial argument, Mulayam had gone to the extent of saying that the Bill would only help those belonging to families of industrialists and bureaucrats and whom youths would "whistle" at.
The Bill which has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha is expected to be taken up for consideration in the Lower House when it resumes budget session on April 15.
The government is keen on pushing ahead with the Bill but is said to be averse to using force for the purpose because of the stature of the opponents.
In the Rajya Sabha, marshals were used to remove obstructing members but the decision came in for severe attack later.
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said last week that the government is going ahead with the Bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha in the second phase of the Budget session beginning April 15. He denied that there would be any changes in the Bill.
"On a matter which has such a large volume of bipartisan support, strategy should be discussed, they should be fine tuned. I don't see any reason why there should be problems of a fundamental nature. Details can be worked out. If you don't have such meetings then you are accused of not carrying other parties with you, if you do have them, questions start arising. The approach is to have a constructive solution and have a bottom line result, to get the Bill passed," said Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, National Spokesperson, Congress.
The opponents of the bill have made it clear that the Bill in its present form would be opposed tooth and nail and they may be open for discussion if the government comes with dilution of the percentage of reservation or leaving the quota for decision by parties.
The three parties Samajwadi Party, JD(U) and RJD, whose leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad are members in the Lok Sabha, have indicated that they will oppose the Bill tooth and nail in the House.
"We will not oppose reservation. We will stick to our old stand of reservation within reservation. The Bill must include reservation for Muslim women, women from backward classes and the Dalit community," said Lalu Prasad Yadav, President, RJD.
Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "We have opposed the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form. We are not opposed to reservation for women. The Bill calls for rotation after 30 years. Assuming that there are 542 seats, then women will fight for over 181-182 seats. In this case only 52 per cent of men will be able to contest elections."
Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Mohan Singh said that his party continues to oppose the Bill in its present form "and we don't see any perceivable change in the government's stand towards our demand".
Singh further said his party had earlier suggested that all parties should give a maximum of 20 per cent tickets to women candidates and recognition of those parties, which fail to do so, should be cancelled.
"The government initially accepted our suggestion only to reject it later," he said.
He added that "I don't see anything coming out of the meeting... However, Mulayam Singhji is in regular contact with both Laluji and Sharadji and all the three parties are united in their opposition to the Bill".
Singh said that Samajwadi Party has also been asking for reservation for Dalit and Muslim women, but this demand has also never been heeded by the government.
"The government managed to get its Bill cleared in Rajya Sabha with the help of the influential class. However if the government brings it to Lok Sabha in its present form, then we will oppose it," the Samajwadi Party general secretary said.
The Bill has evoked sharp opposition from the Yadav trio, who have been demanding a quota within quota for women from backward communities and minorities. Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad have threatened to withdraw support if the government pushes the bill in its present form.
Dishing out a somewhat controversial argument, Mulayam had gone to the extent of saying that the Bill would only help those belonging to families of industrialists and bureaucrats and whom youths would "whistle" at.
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