Women8217;s Bill: Listed but doubtful

NEW DELHI, DEC 10: The Women's Reservation Bill, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assembli...

NEW DELHI, DEC 10: The Women8217;s Reservation Bill, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. It has been listed on the agenda but doubts remain as to whether the bill will be moved as there is a lot of unfinished business before the House.

Though the Samajwadi Party SP, Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD and other smaller parties remain strongly opposed to the Bill, the BJP-led government today said it was confident that with the assured support of the Congress and Left parties, it would be able to introduce the historic legislation, titled the 84th Constitutional Amendment Bill. There is no provision for reservation for OBC women in the Bill.

When the government attempted to introduce the same Bill in July, the move had been thwarted by the SP and RJD which had created an uproar in the House by snatching the Bill from the hands of Law Minister Thambi Durai when he was trying to move it. Several others partiesare also demanding a quota-within-quota for women Dalits, OBCs and minorities.

The BJP issued a three-line whip to its MPs to be present in the House when the Bill is tabled tomorrow directly after zero hour. The Lok Sabha Speaker included the introduction of the Bill in tomorrow8217;s agenda this evening, after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana requested him to do so. This followed a broad consensus reached at the all-party meeting convened by the PM last night, that the Bill should be introduced, .

Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar today assured Khurana that the Congress would support the Bill in whatever form it was brought. At yesterday8217;s all-party meeting, Pawar had insisted that the Bill be brought in the form approved by the joint standing committee headed by Geeta Mukherjee.

Khurana said the main provisions of the Bill were 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies for 15 years, rotation of reserved seats, scheme ensuring reservation for SC/ST women,even in states with less than three MPs, reservation in Anglo-Indian nominees of the President, reservation for women in the Delhi Assembly can be done by a law passed by Parliament.

Opposing the Bill are the RJD, SP, Muslim League, DMK and National Conference. BJP ally Haryana Vikas Party is also against the Bill. In favour of it are the BJP, Congress, Left parties, AIADMK, TDP, Trinamool Congress, BJD, Samata Party and the Akali Dal.

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Going back on its earlier commitment for 15 per cent reservation for women, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha RLM today said that only 10 per cent reservation be granted to women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. Denying that the RLM was against reservation for women, its spokesperson Amar Singh said the Morcha was for increasing the percentage gradually.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, RLM president Mulayam Singh Yadav also sought representation to Dalit women and those belonging to minorities and OBCs on the basis of their population. Singh made it clear thatthe RLM would oppose the Bill if the government failed to amend it suitably.

Yadav also suggested that political parties should reserve 33 per cent tickets for women. If they failed to do so, the Election Commission should derecognise them, he said.