Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will
oppose the Women's Reservation Bill "tooth and nail and are
even prepared to be marshalled out," its president Lalu Prasad
said on Sunday.
Dubbing the bill as a "political blunder", Prasad
alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by both BJP and
Congress parties to suppress representation of women belonging
to the OBC, ST/SC and Muslim communities.
The Centre does not have guts to implement the Ranganath
Mishra Commission and Sachar panel reports, and hence passing
of the Women's Reservation Bill was merely a "diversionary
tactic", he told reporters here before leaving for New Delhi
to garner support against the bill in its present form.
"I am for 50 per cent reservation for women belonging to
all communities... But you cannot ignore the the interests of
women from deprived sections of the society.
"Did women like Sushma Swaraj require reservation to
reach the top? ... It only proves that the Bill is meant for
the elite classes," Prasad said.
Criticising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his
alleged "dual standards" on the Bill, he said Kumar had as
member of joint parliamentary committee given a note of
dissent to the bill in 1997.
The RJD chief alleged that Kumar was trying to appease
his alliance partner BJP as this is the assembly election year
in the state.
Claiming that certain top leaders of the BJP and Congress
were in constant touch with him, Prasad said "They told me if
the parties (BJP and Congress) had not issued the whip they
would have voted against the Bill."
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 07, 2010, 18:46