Faced with a challenge to his traditional Other Backward Class-Muslim vote base from the ruling National Democratic Alliance in poll-bound Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad appears to be making inclusion of caste in census and opposition to women's reservation bill his major planks to woo the electorate.Strongly pitching for incorporating caste in census, he said opposing it could spark a 'mass agitation'.
'The BJP has lost 5 states and Lok Sabha elections are due in less than 90 days.' 'The reservation bill is a jhunjhuna (lollipop) for the upper castes.'
"The prime minister is likely to convene an all-party meeting (to evolve consensus). We are taking all efforts to bring the bill in the Lok Sabha in the winter session of Parliament," the minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs told reporters in Chennai.
Around 700 migrant workers, women and children have lost their lives in this reverse migration. But what is happening today with the migrant labour is only a continuation of the policies pursued by the Modi regime during the last six years. It is not for nothing that India was ranked the most dangerous country in the world for women in 2018 by the Thompson Reuters Foundation poll, points out Rashme Sehgal.
The Central government will hold another all-party meeting this week to arrive at a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, Union minister V Narayanasamy said on Tuesday.
There is apprehension in the Congress about the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha if the Bharatiya Janata Party persists with its demand that Marshals should not be used for physically removing protesting members from the House.
Raising a new demand on the women's bill, the Samajwadi Party on Monday sought a 50 per cent quota for women in educational institutes as well as government jobs. The demand was made by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has already called for "reservation within reservation" for Muslim women and backward classes in the Women's Reservation Bill.
Raising a new demand on the women's bill, Samajwadi Party on Monday sought 50 per cent quota to women in educational institutes as well as jobs.
Consensus eluded the all-party meeting held in New Delhi on Monday to break the logjam over the Women's Reservation Bill, with the Yadav trio sticking to their demand for quota within quota and United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress supporting their stance. After two hours of intense deliberations, it was decided that more discussions would be held on the issue, triggering doubts about whether the bill could be introduced in Lok Sabha in the budget session.
The United Progressive Alliance government will move the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha in the coming session, Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily said on Monday. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties have assured their "unconditional" support to the bill, which has prompted the government to introduce it for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha, Moily told media-persons in Karnataka.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh has said his party will withdraw support to the Women's Reservation Bill during its passage in the Lok Sabha if the government tried 'backdoor' reservation for minorities in the measure. "The BJP is clear that the strength of the Bill is its non-communal nature. This country was once divided on the basis of religion. The BJP will not support the Bill if the government tries backdoor representation for Muslims," he said.
The Congress said on Wednesday that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad did not give any dissent note to the Women's Reservation Bill despite being a member of the Parliamentary Committee concerned, which went into the measure.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi appears to be playing for larger -- and long term -- stakes and the move to provide reservation to women is not bereft of political calculations, writes Neerja Chowdhury
All the four suspended Rajya Sabha members of Samajwadi Party have met Chairman Hamid Ansari and apologised for their unruly behaviour on Monday over the Women's Reservation Bill, a move that could pave the way for revocation of their suspension.
The Congress on Wednesday sought to give credit to president Sonia Gandhi for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. "We thank the media for acknowledging the personal stamp of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the passage of the Bill," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi. The party also expressed its gratitude to the opposition parties which helped in getting the Bill passed. Tewari said the bill was historic.
With the Congress-led government taking most of the credit for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday patted its own back for the success and criticised the United Progressive Alliance for the forcible eviction of protesting Members of Parliament from the House. Despite being in a minority in the Upper House, the Congress-led government and especially party chief Sonia Gandhi earned kudos for passage of the Bill.
Speaking in the House on Tuesday, he stressed that two-third of the MPs and MLAs will lose interest in nursing and serving their constituencies as they stand no chance of second term and that include all women representatives.
No signs of tension reflected on the faces of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The trio in fact stayed back in Lok Sabha even after the House was adjourned for an hour.
A day after being marshaled out from the Rajya Sabha, two of the suspended members said there was no question of tendering an apology over their behaviour on the Women's Reservation Bill, as they had raised the cause of women from the Other Backward Classes, Dalit and minority groups, in the House."Even if our membership goes, we will not apologise," Kamal Akhtar of the SP said. 7 members were suspended for their unruly behaviour in the House over the Women's Reservation Bill
The support of a majority of his own party MPs to the legislation notwithstanding, JD (U) president Sharad Yadav on Tuesday accused the UPA of forcing through the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha and said constitutional amendments should only be passed after evolving a consensus.
India, the largest democracy, lags much behind other countries including its neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan when it comes to participation of the fair sex in politics.
Opposition BJP and the Left have unequivocally supported the Women's Reservation Bill describing it as "the most progressive", but slammed the government for mishandling the process of "historic" amendment to the Constitution.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, two prominent opponents of Women's Reservation Bill, had a nearly 20-minute interaction with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, but both sides appeared to have failed to convince each other.
Seven members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Lok Janshakti Party and an independent Member of Parliament were suspended on Tuesday for the remaining part of the budget session for their unruly behaviour in the House on Monday over the Women's Reservation Bill.The suspended members are Subhash Yadav (RJD), Sabir Ali (LJP), Veerpal Singh Yadav, Nand Kishore Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Kamal Akhtar (SP) and Ejaz Ali.
The government said on Tuesday that it would hold a discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha and not bulldoze the passage of the evolutionary measure involving amendment of the Constitution.
A group of women BJP activists staged a demonstration outside Parliament on Tuesday, to protest the delay in the passage of Women's Reservation Bill and against leaders opposed to the historic legislation.
After his threat of withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and apprised her of his party's stand on the issue of the Women's Reservation Bill. Yadav, whose party, along with the Samajwadi Party, are strongly opposing the bill in its present form, told Patil that his party is not against the reservation for women.
Faced with strident opposition from the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal over the Women's Reservation Bill, the government on Monday said it does not want to 'bulldoze' the Constitutional amendment and would favour a 'healthy debate' before going ahead with it. After a day of high drama in the Rajya Sabha, where the bill was moved for consideration, Law Minister Veerappa Moily slammed the Opposition parties for the way they protested against it.
Several Muslim organisations have disfavoured the women's reservation bill in its present form and demanded that the government take up the measure only if it provides for a quota within quota to women belonging to Muslim, Dalit and Other Backward Class communities.
'Whatever Modi had promised us on OROP has not been delivered. He lied to us'
Slamming the women's reservation bill as a "dangerous" one, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged on Sunday that it was a conspiracy to prevent Muslims, backwards and Dalits from entering Parliament and state assemblies.
After 13 years in hibernation, the prospects of passage of the controversial women's reservation bill brightened with sharp divisions coming to the fore among one of the main the opponents of the measure--JD(Uas Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared his support.
Will the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi be finally successful in pushing through the Women's Reservation Bill that provides 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies? The government wants to have the bill listed in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing on March 8, aiming to make a statement on the International Women's Day. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called the presidents of the state mahila units of her party.
A confrontation over the issue of the Women's Reservation Bill appeared imminent in Parliament with Government planning to take it up next week, triggering a sharp reaction by its detractors Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad with the latter threatening "war".
The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday said they would oppose the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form at an all-party meeting convened by the government and stick to their demand for separate quotas for women from the minority community, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. the meeting has been convened by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is Leader of Lok Sabha, to find a way out of the impasse on the bill.
There is a serious move afoot to reschedule the second half of the budget session of the Parliament with sources disclosing that leader of the Lok Sabha and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would discuss the rescheduling of dates in the meeting of floor leaders of political parties which he has called on April 5.
Under attack for his controversial comment on the Women's Reservation Bill, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday justified his remark, that a separate quota for women would help only those belonging to elite families, whom 'youths would whistle at'.At a meeting of party workers at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, Yadav asserted that his statement was not a slip of tongue but was made after evaluating all aspects, to initiate a debate on the issue.
Moily said there would be no change in the bill compared to that passed in the Rajya Sabha and exuded confidence that it would get through the Lok Sabha also in April.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold talks with the opponents of Women's Reservation Bill before the government's takes the next step on it, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday.
Toughening his stand over the Women's Reservation Bill, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad said on Saturday that he would not bow down to any pressure and continue fighting against the present form of the bill.
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