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Journalism of Courage
Despite extending support to the UPA Government,the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Sunday declared that it would continue to oppose the Womens Reservation Bill in its current format.
The SP has never been opposed to the idea of reservation for women in legislatures; instead it had been opposed to the format of reservation proposed for this purpose, party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav announced after the SP parliamentary party meeting here on Sunday.
We will accept the womens reservation only if it is amended from the current format and makes provision for reservation for women from SCs,OBCs and minorities, Yadav said,adding that the onus of identifying Lok Sabha seats for women should be on political parties and not on the Election Commission.
The declaration by SP comes in the backdrop of the Congress,which introduced the Womens Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha last year,deciding to get Meira Kumar elected as the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
The SP parliamentary party,meanwhile,elected party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as its parliamentary party leader.
Unhappy with its performance in the Lok Sabha polls,the party also decided to dissolve all its state and district units,including in its home turf of Uttar Pradesh,and frontal organisation with the aim of reorganising them.
The reason for this decision is to reorganise these bodies by putting in place party leaders and workers who have worked towards strengthening the party in the elections. Such people will be given prominence in place of non-performers, the party general secretary said.
