Consensus eluded an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday to discuss the Women's Reservation Bill.
Though a majority of political parties supported the constitutional amendment bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, some, including the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, opposed it in its present form.
Coming out of the meeting, Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley said efforts were on to evolve a consensus on the issue.
The meeting also discussed the Election Commission's suggestion to make it mandatory for political parties to give 33 per cent of tickets to women candidates. The suggestion met with approval of parties
opposing the bill in its present form.
The Samata Party, the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party, the Muslim League and the Pattali Makkal Katchi members did not attend the meeting.
"We will oppose the bill if it is brought in its present form. We would like 20 per cent reservation for women from minoritiy communities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs," RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav told reporters.
Opposing the clause for rotation of constituencies earmarked for women, Mulayam Singh Yadav said the parties should
be given the right to decide which constituency the women candidates would be fielded from.
The government plans to bring the Women's Reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament.
