New Delhi:
After Monday's political disaster, parleys have begun early on Tuesday morning.
Sources say that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is committed to Women's Bill despite political risks. Sources also say that Sonia wants voting on Women's Bill soon. Voting could take place today.
As Sonia Gandhi is reportedly adamant on the Bill, the Congress is working hard on building consensus.
Mulayam Singh arrived at Lalu Prasad Yadav's house and the two leaders left together for their meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two have threatened to withdraw support to the UPA government if it goes ahead with the Women's Reservation Bill.
Three Yadavs for long opposed to the Bill - Mulayam, Lalu and Sharad Yadav - met the PM to discuss the issue. They have opposed the bill on the grounds that they believe it does not protect Muslims and Dalits. Their MPs, among others, forced the Rajya Sabha to adjourn five times through the day. The methods they used among the worst moments witnessed in Parliament. (
See Pics: Monday shame)
On Monday, MPs tore copies of the Bill and threw them at the Chairman of the House and Vice-President of the country, Hamid Ansari. (
Watch: Unruly MPs hold up Women's Bill)
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is meeting leaders of the Left and the BJP to discuss how to break the impasse over the women's Bill. Both the Left and the BJP support the Bill.
The government's tackling of the situation on Monday, when it finally had to postpone a vote on the Bill, has come in for widespread criticism. Just how nervous it now is about handling its allies and an aggressive Opposition is obvious. (
Watch: Chaos in Parliament over Women's Bill)
For Tuesday, though the Bill has been listed, there has been no announcement on when it will be put to vote. The government has not even decided on when to call an all-party meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, pending this morning's meeting with the Yadav dissenters and the discussion with the BJP and the Left.
When the government revealed that it had backed out of its plan for a 6.30 pm vote in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, it said the PM would meet leaders of parties on Tuesday morning. But after a core committee meeting of the Congress late on Monday evening, sources said the consultation with other parties had not been fixed.
The lone piece of good news for the Congress may have come from Lalu Yadav who announced that whenever the meeting happens, he will attend. "If they call us for the meeting, then we will go," he said.
The Opposition wants to know why the unruly MPs were not thrown out so the House could vote. "The government has all the powers in the world. It had support of 85-90 per cent of the members in both Houses of Parliament. Therefore, the government should have advised the Chair, and the Chair has enough powers not to be helpless. If some members are disrupting the proceedings, if they are becoming violent, there are sufficient provisions in the rules to act. You should ensure a discussion. For a monumental legislation of this kind, its legitimacy can't be reduced. The legitimacy of Parliament can't be reduced by saying no discussion. You can ask members to withdraw from the House if they are disrupting the proceedings and the government should have gone ahead with the debate and voting. But the government had not done its homework. There was no floor management," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said. (
Watch: There has to be a debate on Women's Bill, says Arun Jaitley)
But Congress sources say that removing MPs or taking serious action against them would be seen as undemocratic since the Bill in question is related to a Constitutional amendment.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily who began the morning by saying this Bill is what India owes to its women, tried to justify the deferred vote. "The quest is of democracy. We could have passed the bill, but the bill of this stature and a historic bill, any constitutional amendment, you cannot bull doze the issue...Why should I be upset, we are proud of this."
The Congress' strategy, however, such as it was, seems to have misfired completely. Allies of the Congress and the Left and the BJP wanted a debate and a vote on Monday, the hundredth anniversary of International Women's Day.
But government sources say the Congress may have been nervous after Lalu and Mulayam Yadav threatened to withdraw support. (
Read & Watch: Mulayam, Lalu withdraw support to govt)
The Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad threat of withdrawal of support has ramifications beyond the Women's Bill. Set to table and get the Women's Reservation Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on International Women's Day, the UPA government is now faced with the possibility of having to get the Budget passed on a wafer-thin majority. While it does not need the support of Mulayam and Lalu to pass the Women's Bill, since the BJP and the Left will vote in favour, it will find itself on very thin ice on other legislation, like the crucial Finance Bill, without the buffer of the 22 Samajwadi Party MPs and 4 RJD MPs in the Lok Sabha. (
Read: Why Lalu-Mulayam exit worries govt)
The UPA has 276 members in the Lok Sabha. That gives it a margin of just 3 over the 273 votes required to push legislation through in the 545-member House. It is in touch with Independents and rebels.