Women’s Bill: LS, RS Adjourned; SP, RJD to Withdraw Support from UPA

Following disrupting proceedings in Lok Sabha over Women’s Reservation Bill, SP and RJD have decided to withdraw support to the UPA government, reported the Times of India.

Rajya Sabha

The two parties disrupted Question Hour in Rajya Sabha over non-implementation of Ranganath Misra Commission report on minority welfare, which resulted in its adjournment.

Just after Chairman Hamid Ansari read out a message on International Women’s Day, SP and RJD MPs demanded discussion on non-implementation of the recommendations of commission’s report, said report.

Ansari tried to calm the members saying that they could moot the issue during Zero Hour and requested them to allow Question Hour to proceed, report said.

However, SP and RJD members didn’t relent and continued shouting slogans demanding implementation of the report.

They also moved towards the well of the House forcing Ansari to call for adjournment for the second time in the day till 2pm.

Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm as members of SP, BSP and RJD strongly opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill, with one of them even attempting to climb the Speaker’s podium, reported PTI.

The bill is scheduled to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha today and created storm in the Lok Sabha as Speaker Meira Kumar hailed a Croatian delegation and read out a reference on International Women’s Day, said report.

As the question hour was called, MPs from SP, BSP and RJD trooped into the Well of the house and insisted that quotas should be given to OBC, Dalit and Muslim women within the proposed law to reserve 33 per cent seats in Parliament and State assemblies for the fair sex, said report.

However, Kumar declined to defer the House and carried on with the Question Hour.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav gestured his party members to move forward and himself marched to the Well from the side of the treasury benches.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) and Lalu Prasad and Umashanker Singh (both RJD) followed Yadav.

SP member Mithilesh Kumar tried to climb the table placed in front of the Speaker at this stage, prompting Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee to petition Yadav to control his party members, report said.

On the SP chief’s directive, the members retreated a bit but stayed put in the Well and continued to raise slogans.