Journalism of Courage
THE BSP on Sunday said it would not support the Womens Reservation Bill if it was tabled in the House in its present format.
The floor management of the BSP would be definitely there in the House. We will take a decision after tabling of the Bill, said BSPs national general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Satish Chandra Mishra,clarifying that his party wanted separate quota without disturbing the original quota for the SC/ST.
This came even as UP Chief Minister Mayawati sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,demanding separate quotas for Dalit,religious minorities,backwards and the poor from the upper castes in the Bill. In addition,the existing reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliament and Assemblies must not be disturbed,she added.
In her letter,the BSP supremo said she was in favour of giving reservation for women for their full participation in politics,but
the proposed 33 per cent quota within the existing reservation for the SC/ST was wrong.
Besides protecting the existing quota,my party demands separate reservation for women of the SC/ST communities within the proposed 33 per cent reservation for the women, wrote Maya,who was earlier believed to be averse to be siding with the SP which is opposing the Bill.
Maintaining it was necessary to reserve seats for women of backward communities,religious minorities and the poor from the upper castes,she requested the PM to ensure the presentation of an amended Bill in Parliament.
