The Bill, which is supported by the Congress, BJP and Left Parties, is vehemently opposed by UPA members like RJD and LJP and Opposition parties like SP and JD(U) who say that there must be quota within the quota for women belonging to deprived sections of the society before it can be considered for passing.

“The consensus decision at the Cabinet meeting was that let the Bill be introduced in Parliament tomorrow,” highly-placed sources in the government said, refusing to divulge any more details about the deliberations during the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh late on Monday night.

The sources, however, added that the Bill would be referred to the Standing Committee immediately after introduction.

Admitting that the Bill is again likely to be placed on the backburner till there is political consensus on it, the sources said the Cabinet meeting cleared it for introduction in Parliament.

However, a scheduled briefing on the meeting was cancelled at the last moment, and the government’s official spokesperson, Principal Director General (Media & Communications) Deepak Sandhu said that since Parliament was in session, “it has been decided that whatever announcement is to be made will be made in the House”.

The idea behind introducing the bill in the Rajya Sabha is that it would not lapse since the Upper House is a “permanent” House unlike the Lok Sabha. Earlier, when the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha a few years ago, it had witnessed acrimonious scenes.

Opposition

With JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav already having announced that his party would oppose the introduction of the Bill, this time too it is not expected to be a smooth affair.

The move to introduce the Bill in the Upper House comes days after a delegation of women Congress leaders led by AICC Mohsina Kidwai called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh making such a demand. On Saturday, Dr Singh told a Left delegation led by CPI’s A B Bardhan that the bill would be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session.

While the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Monday, the government has got a leeway to introduce the bill in Rajya Sabha as it is expected to be adjourned on Tuesday only.

Meanwhile, RJD leader Lalu Prasad indicated his continued reservation over the bill in its current form, saying that his party favoured quota for women from deprived sections of the society and religious minorities within its ambit.
He said the implementation of women’s reservation could be left to political parties or a consensus could be reached over increasing the number of seats in legislatures to accommodate more women.

The Congress, however, took on the parties opposing the Bill, with party spokesman Manish Tewari saying, “We do not want the bill to lapse. We want that even if there is no consensus now, which we are striving for, it should remain alive on the floor of the House,” he said.

CPM’s Sitaram Yechury backed the introduction of the bill, saying, “We have been saying for the last 10 years that the bill should be introduced in Parliament in its original form. Whatever issues other parties have with it, should be discussed as part of the debate in Parliament.”