Congress blames BJP for Women8217;s Bill fiasco

He took exception to the reported statement by Prime Minister Vajpayee and Khurana imputing motives to the Congress and blaming it for the Bill8217;s deferment.

Shiv Shanker, who met Vajpayee along with Rajesh Pilot, rejected reports of Congress backtracking on the measure and said they made it clear to Vajpayee that the party was keen on 33 per cent reservation for women but wanted to know whether the government was keen to accommodate sub-quotas. Shiv Shanker said the PrimeMinister told them that the government wanted to introduce the Bill today in its present form and quot;it is a matter for the Speaker who can take the decision otherwisequot;.

Stating that since there were divisions within BJP8217;s own ranks, he said there was no reason to blame the Congress for the deferment. quot;But we were only exploring the ruling party8217;s attitude as to the accommodation on the question of reservation within reservationquot;.

Shiv Shanker said Pilot and he met the Prime Minister following advice from party president Sonia Gandhi in the parliamentary party meeting held earlier in the day.

UNI adds that flak for the fiasco also came from the National Commission for Women NCW which demanded that all MPs who indulged in raucous behaviour in the House over the Women8217;s Reservation Bill be suspended.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee, NCW chairperson Mohini Giri alleged that hundreds of women demonstrating outside Parliament Gate demanding the tabling of the 84th amendment bill were pushed,shoved and roughed up by police.

Led by NCW members, scores of women demonstrators also sat on a dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi8217;s statue at Parliament House today. The security staff threatened and tried to bodily remove these women from the precincts of Parliament House, she added.

quot;Shocked by the undignified and unparliamentary behaviour of some members who stormed into the Well of the House, tore up the Women8217;s Bill and almost came to blows with their fellow members, the women activists decided to exert their democratic rights and invoke the spirit of the father of the nation,quot; Giri said in her letter to Vajpayee.

She added that those who have opposed the Bill, reserving 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies for women, on behalf of the weaker sections have never shown any concern and do not represent their interests.

The open letter also signed by representatives of women8217;s organisations, including Mahila Dakshita Samiti, All India Women8217;s Conference, National Allianceof Women and Joint Women8217;s Programme, also urged the Prime Minister to take necessary steps to ensure the safe passage of the Bill in the current session of Parliament.In a statement here, the BJP Mahila Morcha also condemned the incident and said that women will never forgive those standing in way of the Bill8217;s passage.