Showdown on cards over Women’s Bill

“We will use all possible parliamentary means to block the introduction of the Bill,” M A A Fatmi said today.

The government on its part is gearing up to the possibility of a showdown. Sources said that the Bill will only be introduced on Monday but a debate on it and its passing will take place only after the Budget is passed. Though the ruling BJP is not confident of its own OBC MPs backing the Bill, it is taking comfort from theexpressions of unconditional support from the Congress and the Left parties.

“We don’t foresee a problem at any stage,” said BJP spokesman K L Sharma. Even those who had opposed the Bill earlier like the Janata Dal had now pledged support to it. He also did not anticipate a major problem from the party’s allies like the Samata Party and the AIADMK as the commitment on passing the Bill figured in the National Agenda for Governance of the ruling coalition.The OBC and Muslim MPs will seek to put across the argument that the Bill should not be introduced because of the lack of complete unanimity.

The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal are taking the lead in the campaign against the Bill, alongside the Muslim MPs cutting across party lines. The two parties are opposed to the very concept of reservation for women and hope to sabotage the Bill by raising the demand for OBC quota. But the Muslim MPs belonging to the Congress are facing a difficulty in taking their opposition to the Bill to its logicalconclusion because the party is issuing a whip to its members to vote in favour. The Bhartiya Janata Party too is issuing a whip.