Curtains for women's bill?

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today virtually sounded the death-knell for the Women's Reservation Bill saying the Government would try to build a consensus on ``other ways'' to increase representation of women even as the last 15 minutes of the winter session witnessed a stand-off between him and the Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Sonia Gandhi.

The session ended with the two leaders squarely blaming each other for wasting parliamentary time through tactics adopted by their parties. Mr. Vajpayee charged Ms. Gandhi with ``breaking the dignity of the House,'' a remark bordering on rudeness which was not missed by the BJP benches from where cries of ``shame'' were raised. The Lok Sabha transacted no business today. After two adjournments - the result of the women's bill being on the list of business even today and yesterday's scenes repeated again - it met in the evening only to wind up. After a brief summing-up by the Speaker, Mr. G. M. C. Balayogi, it was Ms. Gandhi's turn to take the floor.

Confident and speaking fluently, she blamed the Government for the loss of working time in Parliament by not agreeing to discuss the issue related to the three Ministers charged in the Babri Masjid demolition case on the first day the matter was raised, only to agree later. She also charged the Prime Minister with showing ``no evidence'' of fulfilling the promise made a year ago of working for a consensus on the women's bill except the Speaker's meeting yesterday.

The Congress leader attacked the Prime Minister's controversial Ayodhya remarks, emphasising the need to ``cool down communal passions unnecessarily aroused by statements made outside the House by a senior member of government.''

Reaffirming her party's support for the Kashmir peace initiatives, she hoped the Government was ready with a ``contingency plan'' in case of ``disruptions in the ceasefire.'' She also sounded a warning: her party would not cooperate with the Government on issues and bills on which it differed. ``We shall voice our reservations on behalf of the people we are privileged to represent.''

All through her speech, the BJP benches were restive, and there were comments that it was not the occasion for her to raise unpleasant issues. But she continued undeterred.

It was then the turn of the Prime Minister who, predictably, referred to his ``40 years'' in Parliament and charged that he had always maintained the dignity of the House and it was the ``first time it had been broken'' and that what the Leader of the House had said at the end of the session was ``unprecedented''. ``Aaj bhi choda nahin'' (even today you did not spare me), he said.

After the usual mention about maintaining the ``maryada'' (decorum) of the House, Mr. Vajpayee referred to his Government's concern about farmers, but added that it had been tied ``hand and foot'' by the WTO agreement signed by the previous government.

Other options

It was on the women's bill that Mr. Vajpayee completely gave away the Government plan to virtually put the bill aside and try and work for a consensus on some ``other way'' to increase the representation of women. In fact, he said in the House today what he had indicated at the meeting of party leaders called by the Speaker yesterday to find a way to discuss the women's bill in a calm atmosphere.

Separately, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, for the first time virtually admitted the lack of consensus within the NDA on the women's bill - some Shiv Sena, Samata Party and JD(U) members had vocally opposed the bill in the Lok Sabha over the last two days. He said the Government would first seek a consensus within the NDA on the proposal of the Election Commission to make it mandatory for political parties to select women against at least one-third of all seats contested by them in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies.

Ironically, even as the Congress and the BJP took opposing positions, it was those opposing women's reservation who had the last laugh.

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