BSP opposes Women Reservation Bill seeking quota within quota for SC/ST
By ANISunday, March 7, 2010
LUCKNOW - Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday evening opposed the Women Reservation Bill in its present form by seeking inclusion of quota for Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe women in it.
“Bill must be amended to include SC/ST women’s quota in itf the Bill is amended to include our demands, we will vote for it. We oppose it in its present form, ” BSP was quoted by a private news channel as saying on Sunday.
BSP’s opposition to the Women Reservation Bill came following main rival Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s opposition to it for SC/ST women and minority’s cause.
On Sunday RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav and SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav contended that the Bill was nothing but a conspiracy by the Congress and the BJP to eliminate the Backward Classes, Dalit’s and the Muslims.
On Sunday, both the leaders blamed Congress and BJP being hand in gloves.
Describing the Bill as a “political blunder”, Mr. Lalu Yadav 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.
He said because the Centre lacked guts to implement the Ranganath Mishra Commission and Sachar panel reports, hence it’s passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
Mr. Lalu called it just a “diversionary tactic”, he told reporters in Patna 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 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,” Mr. Lalu Yadav said in Patna.
Mr. Lalu even claimed that certain top leaders of the BJP and Congress were in constant touch with him and were hesitating just because their respective parties have issued whips.
“All political parties should allot seats for women. If they fail to do so, EC should de-recognize such parties. BJP-Congress is hand-in-glove in pushing the bill. They are against Dalit’s, Muslims and Backward Classes. We will do everything to fight this,” said Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP chief.
Meanwhile, SP Chief Whip Shailendra Kumar, said the party will issue a whip to MPs over the measure which will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. “We will have a meeting of our MPs tomorrow morning just before parliament commences to discuss our strategy over the Bill. Although all our MPs are following the party line of opposing the Bill, we will also issue a whip so that nobody goes against the party stand,” he said.
The Women Reservation Bill that seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies is slated to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on Monday. (ANI)
