Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The crucial meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the main opponents of the Women’s Reservation Bill Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and Janta Dal-U leader Sharad Yadav ended inconclusively on Tuesday with the trio still remaining firm on their stand demanding a quota within the quota for OBCs, Dalits and Minorities.
Coming out of 7 Race Course Road after meeting the PM, the Yadav trio said that they are still firm on their stand and that they have asked the PM to defer the bill for now and convene an all-party meeting to build consensus over the provisions of the bill.
RJD chief Lalu Yadav said, “We are not against reservation for women. But we have asked the Prime Minister to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the bill and quotas. We are concerned about the most deprived Muslim women, dalit women, those living in the tribal areas and the women from scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.”
JD-U president Sharad Yadav chipped in with, “We have apprised the Prime Minister about our differences on the proposed Women’s Quota Bill. We have pushed for an all-party meeting to end the deadlock on the issue.”
On the other hand, the government appears desperate to push through the bill at all costs. The PM’s initiative to get the Yadavs rethink on the issue is also part of the all out effort by the government to ensure that the bill gets passed in the Parliament.
The bill- brought in to coincide with the International Women's Day – also has the strong backing of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and is now a prestige issue for the government.
But, in view of the threat by Mulayam and Lalu to withdraw support to the UPA (the government will be still in majority but only with a wafer-thin majority), it remains to be seen how far the government is willing to go in pushing for the bill even if it is at the cost of jeopardizing its safety during the Parliament’s Budget Session.
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is has met the top leaders of pro-bill parties including BJP, NCP, CPM and others before the start of Parliament to build consensus.
Pranab has also called for a meeting of all political parties, including the BJP and the Left, supporting the Women's Reservation Bill to discuss strategy for passing the legislation.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 12 pm and is expected to take up the bill as soon as the proceedings resume.
The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, proposes to give 33 percent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
A Constitution amendment needs a two-thirds majority in voting requiring the support of 155 MPs in Rajya Sabha for its passage. The bill has clear backing of at least 165 MPs in the House with an effective strength of 233.
Those opposed to the bill: The BSP and SP, have 12 members each in Rajya Sabha while RJD has 4 and JD(S) has 2 MPs.
Apart from the SP, RJD, BSP and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), lone MP from the Majlis-e Ittihad ul-Muslimin (MIM) Asaduddin Owaisi is opposing the bill in its current form.
First Published: Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 12:46