Failing to present Women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha owing to its pre-schedule adjournment on Monday, the UPA government is all set to go with the bill by introducing it in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on Tuesday.
The bill was to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Moday, but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House after withdrawing MPs name from Privileges Committee, which he referred on the charge of disrupting Parliament proceedings.
An emergency meeting was called on by the Prime Minister at his residence on Monday evening to decide the fate of the bill.
The bill is likely to be introduced amidst opposition from JD(U) and SP and then will be sent to a Standing Committee for scrutiny.
The meeting between Union Cabinet and its key allies such as RJD approved the draft with Lalu Prasad saying not to oppose tabling of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. In the meeting Congress persuaded Prasad not to hinder the bill from introduction.
However, it does not mean Yadav's been deflected from its point of objection. Though he committed not to oppose the introduction of the bill, but he would not seal the bill in its present form.
Yadav with some other parties like JD(U), SP, and BSP since long have been voicing their demand for a sub-quota for SC, ST, OBC and minority within the quota for women.
The Congress would not like the suggestion of the RJD to go unheeded. In order to pushing the bill further it would not like to push the RJD forever. RJD is a strong ally of Congress at the Centre as well as in the Bihar against the coalition government of JD(U) and the NDA.
The Law Ministry has proposed two drafts. First is the existing form of the bill seeking 33.3 percent reservation for women within the present strength of the two houses of Parliament, and the second way is to enhance Parliament's strength by 33.3 percent, means enhance the strength of the 545-member Lok Sabha to 900.
The proposed Bill will be referred to the Standing Committee to facilitate political parties to raise their objections following its introduction in the Rajya Sabha.
By referring the bill to a standing committee, the Congress led ruling government may hope to forward the bill till the formation of the next Lok Sabha as the general election is approaching in mid 2009.
The current impetus was provided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after his assurance to a CPI delegation led by Sitaram Yechury on Saturday that the Cabinet would consider the bill.
The decision to revive the bill has appeared before the government when it has been facing one setback after another. First on the Indo-US nuclear deal it has been sent on the back foot owing to steep opposition from the Left. Late, after presenting a successful people's budget including announcement of loan waiver of Rs 60,000 crore for farmers again the government pushed on the back foot by rising inflation and price rise of food products and essential daily need commodities.
Now the chances to pass the women’s reservation bill in current form are very rare despite strong support from Left and the BJP.
The Women's reservation bill was first introduced by prime minister H D Deve Gowda's government in 1996. Later the NDA government during his rule tried to reintroduce it four times in the successive years of 1998 and 1999, and again during 2002 and 2003.
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