UPA likely to table Women Reservation Bill today

Vikash Ranjan

New Delhi

Mon, 05 May 2008: 

The UPA government is committed to present Women Reservation Bill in the second part of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament on Monday. Despite the Bill having majority of support, it could not be passed due to successful opposition of minority parties.

The Bill see thlight of the day will depend on the RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav and the PMK-the two valuable ally of the ruling UPA.

Yadav have been opposing the bill in the present form. Instead he has recommended quota within quota for women belonging Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Samajwadi Party also seeking quota for OBC women within the Reservation for Women.

The prime minister would not like suggestion of the Railway Minister to go unheeded and if Yadav opposes the bill then Manmohan Singh perhaps would like to give the way with one another promise to table the bill in the next session.

Major political parties are in support of the bill. Even the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have assured its ally and the opposition parties reiterating that Congress is committed to bring 33 percent reservation for women.

Bhartiya Janata Party has committed to nod the bill. It said on the floor of Parliament the party will support the bill in whatever form the government bring it. The BJP said of the meeting between Congress' women leaders and the Prime Minister that the move was linked to the ruling coalition's survival and viewing the opposition of some parties it seemed the bill would meet the same fate as the Indo-Us nuclear deal.

Despite having majority of 425-odd MPs on paper the bill has not come into operation. On this contentious issue UPA's allies seem to be coming closer with UNPA and NDA.

On the issue of reservation bill all three Yadavs have the same opinion such as UPA's Lalu Prasad Yadav, UNPA's Mulayam Singh and NDA's Sharad Yadav,” said Amar Singh, general secretary of Samajwadi Party.

Although the opposition from smaller political parties with little or almost no female representation does not make any political sense. The caste dominant states of UP and Bihar where caste plays a significant role either in voting or fielding candidates, leaders are less serious about the women's reservation in States' as well as Central Parliament.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured CPI leader AB Bardhan on Saturday that the government would table the draft Bill in the current Parliamentary session after the Union cabinet discussed it on Monday.

Lalu Yadav is the lone voice of dissent. So the government is moving with caution. In keeping the RJD and some other opposition parties’ dissent to the present form of bill, the law ministry prepared notes to be taken up at the cabinet meeting. As per the source, the notes have two ways to implement reservation for women. The first option is to implement the existing form of bill for reserving 33.3 percent seats for women while the second way is to enhance the Parliament's strength by 33.3 percent. What the UPA required is an agreement within the government first.

Other issues to storm session

Besides Women Reservation Bill, the Parliament session is likely to be stormed by the Opposition parties regarding price rise and Speaker's strict move against Members of Parliament by referring their name to the Privileges Committee for their unruly conduct in the Parliament.