“We may not have the numbers, but I will consume poison and die here but not allow the passage of the Bill, he said.

During the debate in Parliament on the Motion of Thanks to the President, Sharad Yadav accused Congress of tokenism over the issue of reservation for women.

The Congress party has been resorting to tokenism by appointing a woman as President and as Speaker, Yadav said. The real need was to liberate women who belong to the backward and most backward classes, he said.

Yadav argued that if caste system was abolished, women would do well in every sphere even without the help of reservation.

He stressed only women from the weaker and poor sections should get reservation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not reply to Yadav’s comments when his reaction was sought. President Pratibha Patil on Thursday, while addressing the joint session of Parliament, announced that the UPA government would pass the Women’s Reservation Bill within 100 days.

While the Congress and the BJP favoured the passage of the Bill, the Samajwadi Party and the RJD along with the JD(U) are opposed to the legislation providing for 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.