Opposition MPs to support contentious Bill

New Delhi: India's principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has exuded confidence that all its 116 lawmakers will vote in favour of the contentious Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Although the BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar denied that there was any rift within the party, differences came to the fore yesterday with one of the BJP lawmakers categorically stating that he would vote against the Bill even if a whip is issued.

Under anti-defection laws, defying party whip automatically leads to disqualification as a Member of Parliament.

The ruling coalition is planning to introduce the Bill in the Lok Sabha next week after it was adopted by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Accusing BJP leadership of having fallen into a trap laid by the ruling Congress party, senior BJP lawmaker Yogi Adityanath said that he is against reservation in any form and that the lawmakers should be elected based on their abilities rather than gender, caste or religion.

"There are other more important issue waiting to be discussed. There is price rise, Maoist insurgency, terrorism and security threats being faced by the country, but the government has purposely diverted attention of the country from these issues," Adityanath, who represents Gorakhpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, said.

Although the BJP virtually forced all its 45 Rajya Sabha members to vote in favour of the Bill, the going may not be that smooth for the party as and when voting on the Bill is taken up in the Lok Sabha.

Some BJP lawmakers, especially those belonging to the other backward castes (OBCs), fear voters' backlash since those opposing the Bill have been asking for quota within the proposed 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament and state assemblies for women belonging to OBCs.

"How does the party expect us to face the voters and retain our seats when I have to depend on the OBC votes to win again," said a BJP lawmakers from Bihar who himself belongs to the OBC category. Even Adityanath hinted that he is not the only one opposing the Bill.

Alarmed by the growing dissidence, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, swung into action yesterday by starting the process of consulting party lawmakers.

The duo is expected to hold meetings with all party lawmakers and explain to them why they are supporting the Bill.

BJP is already contemplating plans to overcome the quota within quota issue by giving fair representation to OBC women in its list of candidates without forcing any amendment.