SP against present format of women reservation bill: Mulayam

Samajwadi Party on Thursday said though it was not opposed to reservation of seats in Parliament for women, it was against the present format of the Women Reservation Bill and will discuss it threadbare in a meeting.

"We will discuss the Bill threadbare in our party meeting soon and take a stand on it there," SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav told reporters here in Parliament.

On comments by Congress and other parties that the strength of those opposing the Bill has come down in the Lok Sabha, Yadav said, "Our strength may have reduced but the policy (towards the Bill) remains the same."

Party general secretary Amar Singh also said SP has "never opposed women reservation but the present format is not acceptable to us".

He said, "If the government wants to get the Bill cleared through numbers then it can do it but we will oppose it. This is because we feel that its format should be clarified.

"If it is cleared in its present format, then careers of many established and sitting MPs would be finished as their traditional seats would be reserved for women."

Singh said the percentage of reservation should be fixed through consensus and political parties should be allowed to decide on the percentage.

"The president and the speaker, both are women. Did they come through reservation? Without reservation women can achieve their goals. But we are not saying that there should be no reservation. We are not against it, but want to bring practical changes in the Bill," Singh said.