M A I N   N E W S

Women’s quota Bill to be tabled
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 22
Ending all speculations, the UPA government tonight decided to introduce contentious Women’s Reservation Bill, giving 33 per cent reservation in legislative bodies, in the second half of winter session of Parliament.

This was decided at the UPA meeting in which senior Left leaders were also present.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told mediapersons that after the introduction of the Bill in its original form it would be referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee since it was a Constitutional Amendment Bill.

He said Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, a known opponent of the Bill in its present form, had initiated the move at the UPA meeting.

At the meeting, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, said the Bill would be tabled in the ongoing session.

Mr Dasmunsi denied suggestions that the move was aimed at buying time on the women's reservation issue.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister parried a question whether the passage of the legislation was possible in view of the BJP changing tack on the issue, saying "this was a meeting of the UPA and not the BJP".

He, however, declined to give a time-frame for the passage of the Bill.

Mr Yechury, who along with CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan, represented the Left at the dinner meeting, said Mr Mukherjee also briefed the meeting about other legislations to be tabled in Parliament.

The Left leaders said they were in favour of the introduction of the Bill in its original form as presented during the United Front's rule, which called for 33 per cent reservation in the existing legislative bodies.