India government firm on Women's Bill

New Delhi: The heat and dust generated by the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday has started settling in as those opposed to it have started toning down their rhetoric.

Buoyed by their success, the Congress party-led ruling coalition is contemplating bringing the Bill for mandatory approval by the Lok Sabha next week.

The constitutional amendment Bill needs approval by a minimum of two-third of members of both chambers of parliament as well as adoption through simple majority by at least half of 28 state legislative assemblies before the Bill, aimed at giving 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, can become Law.

While both chambers continued to be rocked by the opponents of the Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal yesterday indicated that the government was exploring the possibility of bringing the Bill before the Lok Sabha before Parliament goes into 26-day recess from next Wednesday.

"The government intends to pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha before March 16," said Bansal.

The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the most vocal opponents of the Bill, are dithering on their announcement for withdrawal of support to the government and have also dropped the idea of bringing in a motion of no confidence against the government, realising they stand to get politically isolated after the overwhelming support the passage of the Bill has received from all sections of society.

Although Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, who virtually pushed the reluctant government to go in for voting in the Rajya Sabha, had admitted the risk, but is determined to go ahead with it.

Next step

"Well, the first step has been taken and as a natural corollary to this, the next step will have to be taken…. Of course, our party is committed or we wouldn't have taken the first step. And in politics there are always risks and things may impact one way or the other, but the larger picture has to be taken into view," Sonia told a private news channel.

The Congress party managers are sure that no party will dare to bring down the government at this stage since they are weary of facing the voters so soon on an issue which intends to empower nearly 50 per cent of over 1 billion population of India.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has lost its clout by managing to win just four seats in the current Lok Sabha while the Samajwadi Party cannot be sure of even retaining 22 seats it has after a string of flop shows in by-elections in its bastion Uttar Pradesh.