Lalu Prasad firm on opposing Women's Reservation Bill

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will oppose the Women's Reservation Bill "tooth and nail and are even prepared to be marshalled out," its president Lalu Prasad said today.
     
Dubbing the bill as a "political blunder", Prasad alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by both BJP and Congress parties to suppress representation of women belonging to the OBC, ST/SC and Muslim communities.
     
The Centre does not have guts to implement the Ranganath Mishra Commission and Sachar panel reports, and hence passing of the Women's Reservation Bill was merely a "diversionary tactic", he told reporters here before leaving for New Delhi to garner support against the bill in its present form.

"I am for 50 per cent reservation for women belonging to all communities... But you cannot ignore the the interests of women from deprived sections of the society.

"Did women like Sushma Swaraj require reservation to reach the top ? ... It only proves that the Bill is meant for the elite classes," Prasad said.

Criticising Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for his alleged "dual standards" on the Bill, he said Kumar had as member of joint parliamentary committee given a note of dissent to the bill in 1997.

The RJD chief alleged that Kumar was trying to appease his alliance partner BJP as this is the assembly election year in the state.

Claiming that certain top leaders of the BJP and Congress were in constant touch with him, Prasad said "They told me if the parties (BJP and Congress) had not issued the whip they would have voted against the Bill."