Will the Prevention of Cruelty to Cow Bill 2003 suffer the same fate as the Women’s Reservation Bill of barely making it to the floor of the House? For, if it is yet another political gimmick by the entire political class excluding the women, as it is alleged in the case of the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Cow Bill too has several avenues for escape.The Cow Protection Bill, which is ready to be introduced in the Lok Sabha next week, has similarly thrown traditional friends and foes into each other’s camps. The Bill, concieved by the BJP in a bid to force the Opposition, especially the Congress, into taking a position on the emotive issue of cow slaughter, beef-eating and personal liberty, has divided its own camp too. However, most NDA allies are still waiting and watching and hoping this Bill too will hang in suspended animation for a long time.So, how will the passage of this Bill play out? The BJP is confident the Bill will not be opposed by any party at the introduction level. So far, so good. But most hopefuls against the Bill are relying on the next stage to stall the Bill, when it goes before the Agriculture Ministry Standing Committee which will make a thorough study and submit its report to Parliament. Herein lies the tale.The standing committee has 30 Lok Sabha MPs and 15 Rajya Sabha MPs on its list, and interestingly, the BJP is almost submerged under several Opposition parties. Among the Lok Sabha MPs, there are only 10 BJP MPs. Says a source, ‘‘The Bill can be stalled here with members making reports after reports, so it will be a long time before the Bill will be brought back to Parliament.’’
