New Delhi, Aug 19: When it came to the Women's Reservation Bill, the rift within the opposition and NDA camps came to the fore in Lok Sabha today notwithstanding the two sides were debating a no-confidence motion against the Vajpayee government. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav wasted no time in using the opportunity to warn the Congress against pressing the issue too hard at a time when the house was discussing a no-trust motion.

Yadav, who sounded bitter on Congress, said a way out was found on the bill with both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister agreeing on a proposal but the main Opposition rejected it. He said to avoid a picture of disunity in the Opposition, he had not touched the issue during his speech. Sitting right next to Yadav, veteran CPI-M leader Somnath Chatterjee looked uneasy as differences surfaced between Congress and left and strong opponents like Samajwadi Party.

The women's bill caused a stir in the House when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the topic in a bid to counter allegations by leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi and Chatterjee that the government was using lack of consensus as a pretext for inaction on the issue. Swaraj said the Constitution Amendment Bill, seeking to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in assemblies and Lok Sabha, could not be taken up without a conducive atmosphere in the house.

Bureau Report