New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday welcomed the Union Cabinet`s approval to a Bill to give Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes reservation in job promotion.
The BSP chief, talking to reporters here, appealed to the main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party, to let the Bill be passed in this session, which ends on September 7.
"I will appeal to the NDA, especially the BJP, who have been stalling Parliament over the coal block allocations. I would request them to pass this Bill as it has already been discussed in the all-party meeting, and needs no more debate in Parliament," Mayawati said.
"I would urge them, whether it takes half an hour, one hour or one and a half hour, to get it passed in this session," she said.
"We have fought hard for this Bill. It will allow SCs and STs to stand on their feet," she said.
She added that if reservation is also granted to the Other Backward Classes, it would be a welcome move that her party would support.
BJP, meanwhile, has agreed to support the Bill. However, party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that some members had reservations and may seek amendments to the Bill.
SP against Bill
The Samajwadi Party has meanwhile said it will not let the Bill pass in Parliament.
The party, which has taken a stand against the Bill, accused the government of taking a politically motivated decision.
"We are against the Bill. It is unconstitutional," Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav said.
"The Supreme Court has quashed it. Still the government wants to bring the Bill because it is politically motivated," Yadav told reporters here.
"Just as we did not allow the Women`s Reservation Bill to be passed, we will not allow this Bill either," Yadav said.
Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, however, said the government was committed to getting the Bill passed.
"It was a decision taken in an all-party meeting. It is everyone`s view," Khurshid said.
According to government sources, the Bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday or Thursday.
IANS
