Cong firm on going ahead with passage of Women Bill

Sunil Gatade
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Notwithstanding the pause on
Women's Reservation Bill in view of the priority for financial
business, the Congress appears to be firm on going ahead with
its passage in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian
Parliament) after the recess in the budget session.
Congress leaders are seeking to put pressure on the
opponents of the bill by even talking of snap Lok Sabha poll
in case of defeat.
The leaders, who do not want to go on record, recall that
the general elections in 1971, after the defeat of the privy
purses bill which sought to abolish benefits to the erstwhile
princes, were won by Indira Gandhi hands down.
A section of Opposition leaders are also said to be
sharing the Congress' view that its prospects could be good
in case of election in the event of the defeat of the bill and
so they want the focus to be shifted on issues like price
rise.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is being given
credit for the Bill, has said the party had taken "huge
risks" on the measure and that it had taken risks before.
Many Congress leaders believe the party is unlikely to
lower the percentage of reservation for women from 33 as
provided in the bill which has been passed in the Rajya Sabha
(Upper House of Indian Parliament).

Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi dismissed lowering of
the percentage and talk of fresh polls as "needless
speculation". "We do not live to tilt at windmills and do
imaginary crossing of non-existent bridges".
Besides, indications are that the Congress is unlikely to
yield to the demands like quota within quota on communal
considerations. Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party,
Lalu Prasad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sharad Yadav of
the Janata Dal (United) are seeking a quota within quota for
backwards and minorities.
Claiming that the campaign by the Yadav trio would turn
out to be a "damp squib", senior party leader V Kishore
Chandra Dev insists that there is "no going back" on the 33
per cent quota. "The very fact that the Yadavs are bargaining
for percentage meant that they have accepted the principle of
reservation".
A senior leader, who had once participated in the parleys
over the Bill, feels that its passage in the Rajya Sabha has
been a momentous occasion and the development would have its
impact even in other democratic countries.
The talk is that suggestions that could be accepted
include raising the strength of the Lok Sabha and the state
assembles by one third. The strength of these bodies from an
estimated 6,000 could be raised to 9,000.
Other suggestion that is unlikely to be rejected is to
have one third of the current constituencies in the Lok Sabha
and the state assemblies as double member constituencies.
There have been no indications so far as to when the Bill
would come up in the Lok Sabha.

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar are expected to talk to "all concerned"
in a bid to arrive at a consensus on the issue.
Mukherjee, the "man for all seasons" in the Congress-led
coalition, and the NCP supremo are likely to initiate
discussions with the Yadav trio and leaders of parties like
Shiv Sena who are opposed to the Bill during the inter-session
period after the first phase of Budget session that concludes
on March 17.
Mukherjee had led the ruling side in talks with the Left
parties on the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal during United
Progressive Alliance's (UPA) first term. Pawar was also part
of the UPA-Left committee which went into the nuclear deal.
Signalling that Congress was firm on the Bill, Gandhi has
said it was part of the abiding commitment of the party to the
empowerment of the 'aam aadmi'(common man) along with
several other legislations of the government. PTI SPG
MYR