New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) The women's reservation bill continued to stall parliament for the fourth day Thursday as the government sought to calm the opposition by offering a dialogue to resolve differences on the legislation.
But the government's offer for an all-party meeting had no effect in breaking the deadlock over the bill, which led to adjournments in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha.
The proposed legislation, which seeks to reserve a third of legislative seats in India for women, has angered parties with mass base mainly in the Hindi heartland. They are demanding a quota within the quota for Dalit and Muslim women. The bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. It is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in coming days.
The clamour in the Lok Sabha began in the morning. Speaker Meira Kumar allowed Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Lalu Prasad, Janata Dal-United's (JD-U) Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party's (SP) Mulayam Singh Yadav to make brief observations over the bill. The three party chiefs demanded a discussion to which Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee agreed.
Mukherjee, the finance minister, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was ready to consult all parties for a consensus before the bill is tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"There is no harm in calling an all-party meeting. The prime minister has pointed out that we will consult you (to arrive at a consensus) and for exploring ideas and possibilities to narrow down the differences before the bill is brought in the Lok Sabha," Mukherjee said, asking the parties, with folded hands, to allow the house to function.
"Please, allow the normal business. We will consult you before taking up the bill (in the Lok Sabha)," he said, amid noisy scenes.
Meira Kumar then adjourned the house till noon. The protests resumed when the MPs reassembled at 12 noon, forcing another adjournment till 2 p.m.
Earlier, the three Yadav leaders - Lalu Prasad, Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Singh -- launched a scathing attack on the government. Lalu Prasad called the bill an onion that will "bring tears to MPs once they peel it off".
"The constitution is being amended and therefore everyone's opinion should be taken into account," he said.
Mulayam Singh said a quota within the quota for Muslim and Dalit women "will strengthen democracy".
Sharad Yadav said the government should build a consensus before amending the constitution. "I believe that a solution can be reached only by discussions and debates. The government should talk to us? There should be a general consensus. There should be an all party meet to discuss this."
The Rajya Sabha saw similar disruptions following persistent demands from opposition MPs for revoking the suspension of seven members who had been physically evicted from the house Tuesday during the debate on the bill.
As soon as the house met for the day, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said the house had witnessed some unfortunate scenes and disrespect was also shown to the chair.
He regretted the incident on behalf of the opposition. "Some MPs are abstaining from the proceedings because their colleagues have been suspended. We urge the government to bring a motion to revoke the suspension."
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the suspended MPs should express their regret to create a congenial atmosphere in the house.
The opposition created a ruckus over this and Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house for 15 minutes, saying he found the conduct of the suspended MPs "reprehensible and disgusting".
When the house re-assembled at 11.30 a.m., the opposition MPs were again on their feet over the issue. Ansari adjourned the house till 12 noon.
The suspended MPs are Kamal Akhtar, Veerpal Singh Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Nand Kishore Yadav (all SP), Ejaz Ali (JD-U), Sabir Ali (Lok Janshakti Party) and Subhash Prasad Yadav (RJD).