The Hindu : Women's Bill may be tabled in monsoon session

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 10, 2003

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Front Page

Women's Bill may be tabled in monsoon session

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 9. Already under criticism for the failure to push through the Women's Reservation Bill in the just-concluded session of Parliament, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, today claimed that the Congress and the CPI (M) had turned down the Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi's offer to try to pass the Bill by expelling MPs of the Samajwadi Party who were blocking its passage. Mr. Joshi today flatly denied making any such suggestion.

Taking offence at Ms. Swaraj's blaming them for the Government's failure, the Congress spokesperson, Jaipal Reddy, and the senior CPI (M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee, said the Speaker had not made any such suggestion to them.

Ms. Swaraj said she did not see any possibility of the Bill being passed in its present form. However, if a consensus or political unanimity was reached at the all-party meeting called by the Speaker on June 16 she would introduce a "new bill" in the "very first week of the monsoon session", the Minister promised.

Clearly ruling out the possibility of arriving at a consensus on the Bill in its present form that seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in the State Assemblies and Parliament, Ms. Swaraj, however, said the Centre would pen the draft for the new Bill only after unanimity was arrived at the Speaker's all-party meeting. Although she was not specific, the hint was that a political agreement could be reached on the "alternative proposal" to make it mandatory for political parties to select a specific number of women candidates

Mr. Chatterjee described the Government's attitude towards the Bill as `amazing' and said it was playing a dubious blame game by holding the Opposition responsible for the "non-passage" of the Bill. "Why is the Government talking of consensus when there was no consensus on the Prevention of Terrorism Act?" The CPI (M) requested the Speaker not to prorogue the House and, instead, call a special session in case the political parties were unable to hammer out their differences on the issue on June 16.

Mr. Joshi said he had asked the political parties to give their suggestions in writing before the meeting and an attempt would be made on that day to draft an agreement.

Earlier, at a meeting with the representatives of several women's organisations at his residence, Mr. Joshi said women's groups would be consulted before the Bill was placed in Parliament once again.

He told the delegation that he had moved a similar proposal in the Maharashtra Assembly in 1996 when he was the Chief Minister.

Not too happy with the Shiv Sena that has been opposing reservation for women, the delegation members told Mr. Joshi to convince his party and his leader of the need for reservation for women in the State Assemblies and Parliament.

Mr. Joshi told them that as Speaker he was not affiliated to any political party and that personally he supported the Bill. Ranjana Kumari, coordinator for the Joint Action Front for Women, later told The Hindu that "we made it clear that we would accept nothing less than 33 per cent reservation."