Flag of revolt in BJP over Women’s Bill; Advani to firefight

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath today said there should be "internal democracy" on such issues and cautioned the party not to fall into Congress` "trap" of diverting the nation`s attention from other important matters.

New Delhi: Amid reports of differences in
BJP over the women`s bill, its MP Yogi Adityanath today said
there should be "internal democracy" on such issues and
cautioned the party not to fall into Congress` "trap" of
diverting the nation`s attention from other important matters.

"There are other important issues like terrorism and
Naxalism, but a week has been wasted in Parliament by
discussing reservation for women," he told reporters here.
"Reservation is not the need of the hour, it is not
required now, as there are other issues of national interest
to discuss. It is a conspiracy on the part of the Congress to
divert attention from such issues and if BJP falls in this
trap, then it would be unfortunate," Adityanath said.

He said he was not against the bill but the way it was
passed in Rajya Sabha through deployment of marshals.
"I am not against the bill, but the way it was cleared in
Rajya Sabha with the help of marshals is not acceptable to us.
If it is introduced in a similar manner in Lok Sabha, the MPs
will be forced to resign," the Gorakhpur MP said.

Hinting at differences in BJP over the party`s stand on
the bill, he said, "Internal democracy within the party is
also important, especially on such issues. All decisions
cannot be taken by sitting in Delhi and representatives of
people should also be taken into confidence for their opinion
and there should be internal discussion on it."

Adityanath claimed that he did not see any possibility of
any whip being issued by BJP in the Lok Sabha for the bill, as
it would not be introduced there at all.

"The bill has been put in deep freeze, it will not be
introduced in Lok Sabha," he said.

Advani calls MPs for tea

As the signs of disquiet grew, veteran leader and chairperson of the BJP parliamentary party LK Advani called for a meeting of the party`s Lok Sabha MPs at his residence over tea Thursday evening.

The BJP leadership had moved quickly after reports of the dissent. BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde said the party fully backed the bill and would issue a whip when it was taken up in the Lok Sabha.

Asked about the remarks of Adtiyanath against the bill, Munde said they were his "personal views" but he would abide by the party decision.

Answering a query about the meeting at Advani`s residence, Munde said MPs were going to the BJP`s leader`s residence for tea as they do "in every session".

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar also categorically denied any rift over the issue.

The BJP`s chief whip, Ramesh Bais, who had said Wednesday that there was great resentment against the proposed legislation, added that his MPs would not defy the party`s fiat to pass the bill in the lower house.

"Whatever the individual opinions of MPs, all MPs will go with the party decision if it comes up in the Lok Sabha," he said.

Agencies` inputs

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