New Delhi: A day after Trinamool Congress
abstained from voting on women's reservation bill in Rajya
Sabha, party supremo Mamata Banerjee tonight met Congress
President Sonia Gandhi and explained her party's stand.
Banerjee and her party leader and Minister of State
for Health Dinesh Trivedi held a 45-minute meeting with Gandhi
at her residence, which was described as "very positive".
When contacted, Trinamool Chief Whip in Lok Sabha
Sudip Bandopadhyay said Mamata explained to Gandhi her party's
position on the issue.
Gandhi had last night expressed surprise at Trinamool
Congress' abstention after pointing out that Mamata was
initially very enthusiastic about the Bill at a meeting of the
union cabinet.
TC has been maintaining that the "sentiments" of the
minorities should be incorporated in the women's quota bill.
It has not yet made clear what stand it would take when the
legislation comes up for consideration in the Lok Sabha.
The Railway Minister was apparently stung by a
Congress member's remarks today in the Rajya Sabha that some
ministers were "not obeying" the discipline of the government.
After the remark was made during a debate on the
Railway Budget, Banerjee left the House briefly with BJP
member S S Ahluwalia.
Earlier in the day today, Banerjee attributed her party's
abstention from voting on the Women's Reservation Bill in
Rajya Sabha to a "communication gap" and said she was
committed to the Constitutional amendment.
"In Rajya Sabha we have two members. We were not
informed... there was a communication gap," Banerjee told
reporters outside Parliament.
Trinamool Congress had yesterday said it was not
informed about the decision to have voting in Rajya Sabha over
the bill yesterday and the government was trying to bulldoze
the legislation through the Rajya Sabha.
-PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 00:21