The Women’s Reservation Bill 1999 today played out as a familiar charade in the House with choreographed movements and predictable reactions. At the end of the day, the Bill — which seeks to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies for women — was, as usual, deferred once again.Nothing had changed. The Samajwadi Party and RJD, with adequate support from BJP allies Shiv Sena, JD (U) and Samata Party, rushed to the well, necessitating a short adjournment by Speaker Manohar Joshi to meet leaders of all parties. Most of the opponents of the Bill seemed to be shooting from Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav’s shoulder, though.What is surprising, however, is that the Government chose to list the Bill in the business agenda, knowing well what its fate would be. Then why? According to an NDA leader, it was an exercise in scoring political brownie points. ‘‘Both the Congress and the CPI (M) had sent letters stating their support for the Bill. It was imperative for the BJP to act quickly to prove their sincerity for the passage of this Bill,’’ he said.According to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, ‘‘I had personally met leaders of all parties and even arranged for an all-party meet with the PM last month. It was after hearing the dissenting views of Mulayam Singh, the PM gave a month’s time to rethink on the matter. This morning too, I spoke to Nitish Kumar, George Fernandes and Sharad Yadav and they all assured me we could ahead with a discussion.’’ ‘‘Members could have spoken their minds and suggested amendments which could have been taken into consideration. Instead, the SP and RJD threatened to stall proceedings of the House for the next three days,’’ she added.If the script to squash the Bill was written yesterday, it certainly moved at every cue. According to sources, when a suggestion was offered for a discussion in the House without a vote, Mulayam Yadav expressed fears he could be walking into a trap as once the Bill is introduced, it becomes property of the House. ‘‘Any member can ask for a vote and the Speaker is obliged,’’ explained an MP.If the other choice was to remove agitating MPs out of the House and proceed, there was an instant chorus of protests. Senior leaders like the CPM’s Somnath Mukherjee expressed ‘‘alarm’’ over these undemocratic methods. Even Joshi pointed out that in a democracy, ‘‘even small parties matter.’’Joshi finally announced that since no agreement could be reached at the meeting, another meeting be held to explore the possibility of finding a consensus. ‘‘The Bill can be deferred for the time being,’’ he declared in the House.While addressing the media after the decision had been taken, Swaraj betrayed her exasperation. ‘‘I will not hold any more meetings at the PM’s level to evolve a consensus. If the Speaker so desires to discuss the issue with parties, it is his prerogative,’’ she said. She also categorically stated the Bill will not be passed in the 13th Lok Sabha. ‘‘It will not come before its term is over,’’ she said dismissively.Speaker Joshi, however, exposed a certain lack of inclination, when he was asked whether the Bill could be taken up on the pattern of POTA, where a joint session of both Houses was called to pass the legislation. ‘‘It is not impossible to push a Bill in that manner but all parties thought it better to defer it today,’’ he told a TV channel.
