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Wednesday, July 15, 1998

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Women's Bill deferred
Tribune News Service
NEW DELHI, July 14 — The introduction of the controversy-ridden Women’s Reservation Bill, providing for 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was deferred today.
The day also saw the Speaker taking the unprecedented step of calling in marshals to evict a Rashtriya Janata Party member, Mr Anand Mohan Singh, who refused to heed the Chair’s warning of not interrupting proceedings of the House.
The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, today deferred the introduction of the Constitution (84th Amendment) Bill to enable various political parties to arrive at a consensus on the issue.
The Speaker’s announcement came minutes after the Law Minister, Mr Thambi Durai, rose to seek the leave of the House for introduction of the Bill.
Speaking in the backdrop of unprecedented bedlam in the House yesterday when two members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal snatched papers from the Speaker and and the Law Minister to physically stall the introduction of the Bill, Mr Balayogi said the Bill in question had a wider, meaningful political significance for women.
He said attempts so far to reach a consensus on the Bill had not yielded results and there was need for more consultations.
He also referred to the all-party meeting convened by him this morning in which there were suggestions that the introduction of the Bill be deferred.
"In the circumstances, I propose with the agreement of the House, that the introduction of the Bill be postponed for the time being," he said.
The Speaker’s announcement was strongly protested by the Trinamool Congress leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, Mr Somnath Chatterjee of the CPM and many women members of the BJP and certain Congress members.
Even when the protests were on, Mr Balayogi adjourned the House for lunch. It was the second adjournment during the day as the members of the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the National Conference and the Bahujan Samaj Party disrupted the question hour by raising slogans against the Women’s Reservation Bill.
When the session resumed, Ms Banerjee led other women members into the well of the House and raised slogans of "We want Women’s Reservation Bill to be introduced first." The women MPs squatted inside the well of the House and refusing to budge.
Intervening amidst the din, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, sought to pacify the agitated women MPs by saying that they were in favour of the Bill and it depended on the Speaker now to introduce the Bill.
The Chair assured the agitated members that an all-party meeting would be convened within two days to decide whether to introduce the Bill.
Not convinced by the assurance, the women MPs continued to raise slogans of "We want justice, we want Mahila Bill". In the din, the Speaker adjourned the House for an hour.
When the House met again the women MPs were in no mood to relent and kept on shouting "We want Women’s Bill"
Ms Banerjee charged that deliberate attempts were being made to stall the introduction of the Bill. "In the name of consensus, this Bill every time goes to the wastepaper basket. What sort of message goes to women in the country and the rest of the world," she asked.
She demanded that the Speaker should announce a date for the introduction of the Bill and added that no one was against a quota for other Backward Classes, Muslims, SCs and STs.
Ms Sumitra Mahajan (BJP) and Ms Geeta Mukherjee of the CPI supported Ms Banerjee and urged Mr P.M. Sayeed, who was in the chair to make a straight announcement on when the Bill would be introduced.
Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav’s attempts to intervene proved futile as the women MPs shouted him down and forced him to take his seat on more than one occasion.
Mr Sayeed asked whether the government wanted to react to the demand of the women MPs. When Mr Khurana got up to speak, the members shouted "No, no" and added that the announcement had to come from the Speaker. At this point, Mr Sayeed adjourned the House for the third time in the day.
When the House again met, the Speaker tried to assuage the feelings of the agitated women MPs and said he would ask all parties to deliberate on the Bill to ensure its early passage.
This pacified the women members but irked RJD member, Mr Anand Mohan Singh, who demanded to know the fate of the Bill. Mr Balayogi warned Mr A.M. Singh not to interrupt the proceedings and allow further business to continue. When the member, despite repeated warnings, refused to heed to the direction of the Chair, the Speaker called in the marshals and asked them to evacuate him.
Earlier, speaking to newspersons after the Speaker deferred the introduction of the Bill, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, said it would be difficult to pass the controversial Bill during the current session of Parliament in view of some parties going back on their commitment.
The ruling coalition was keen that the Bill be adopted in this session itself, he maintained.
He, however, declined to say whether the Bill would now be put in cold store in view of the widespread demand for quota for other Backward Classes and minorities among women.
In an apparent reference to the shift in the stand of the Congress on the issue, Mr Vajpayee said the parties from whom the Government expected support for the Bill had changed their position. They now favoured full-fledged deliberations before it was introduced in the House, he said.
Attempts by the previous Gowda and Gujral governments to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill had failed twice in the Lok Sabha in the past and when it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha it was referred to the Select Committee of Parliament.
The Bill prepared by the Select Committee was being sought to be introduced by the BJP-led coalition as it is. This decision was taken at an all- party meeting chaired by the Prime Minister last Friday.
The Bill ran into trouble when parties like the RJD and the Samajwadi Party sought amendment to the Bill to provide for a quota for other Backward Classes. The Samajwadi Party also sought in addition a cut in the quota from 33 per cent to 15 per cent. Members of the National Conference, the BSP, the IUML and the MIM joined the SP-RJD combine to raise the demand of a quota for Muslim women
The Lok Sabha censured Rashtriya Janata Dal members, Mr Surendra Yadav and Mr Ajit Kumar Mehta, for their unruly behaviour in the House yesterday but stopped short of suspending them after the leaders of the RJD and the Samajwadi Party, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, tendered unqualified apologies on their behalf.
An official motion moved by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, seeking suspension of the two members for yesterday’s incident in which they had snatched papers from the Speaker and the Union Law Minister, Mr Thambi Durai, in a bid to stall the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill, was withdrawn after the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, observed that "An apology from the heart was the biggest punishment for anybody."
Mr Vajpayee deprecated the behaviour of the members who tried to block the introduction of a legislation which has the support of majority members.
The Prime Minister said there had been instances in Parliament when proceedings had been disrupted for days together but then yesterday the "Lakshman rekha" (all limits) had been crossed. He said he had not come across such a scene in Parliament during his 40-year-long career.
When the House met for zero hour after the question hour was adjourned over the issue of the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi made a statement narrating the incidents which forced him to abruptly adjourn the House yesterday. He said he had to adjourn the House and leave the Chair in anguish.
Describing the incidents as reprehensible, Mr Balayogi said such incidents eroded the credibility of Parliament. Naming the two RJD members, the Speaker said "I deprecate the conduct of Mr Surendra Prasad Yadav and Mr Ajit Kumar Mehta in the strongest possible terms"
Thereafter, Mr Khurana sought the leave of the House to move the motion seeking to suspend the two RJD members.
Realising the somber mood of the House, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav rose to say that he was not happy with what happened yesterday and he wanted to apologise to the House for the unruly behaviour of his party members and gave an assurance that such behaviour would not be repeated in future. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav said he too wanted to apologise to the House.
Leader of the Opposition, Mr Sharad Pawar, said it was a shameful act and expressed regret that the incident had occurred even before the 50th independence celebrations were over.
Mr Somnath Chatterjee condemned the incidents and said it was a matter of great sadness.
Mr Gujral said "Last night was an anguishing night for me" and he wondered whether he deserved to be in such a House.
The RJD leader, upset by the criticism levelled by member after member, rose to say that if this trend continued then he would withdraw his apology. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav said once the leaders had apologised, they should not be subject to any further criticism.
When Mr Vajpayee spoke, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, reiterated that his apology stays and he agreed with the Prime Minister.
PTI adds: The House dropped a move for action against two RJD members Surendra Prasad Yadav and Ajit Kumar Mehta for their action of snatching papers from the Speaker and the Law Minister on Monday when the government attempted to introduce the Bill following unqualified apologies tendered by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Deprecating the "highly unparliamentary and disorderly scenes" witnessed on Monday, Mr Balayogi identified Mr Surendra Yadav and Mr Ajit Kumar Mehta for snatching of papers from him and the Law Minister.
Soon after the Speaker’s remarks, Mr Khurana immediately got up to move a motion seeking suspension of the two members for the remaining part of the current Budget session. This drew loud protests from the RJD and SP members.
At one stage, both RJD and SP leaders took strong exception to the manner in which the leaders of other political parties were trying to berate them and said "If that was so, let the House take action against them. We are prepared to face suspension."
The Prime Minister said whatever happened yesterday was a matter of shame and the members had crossed "Lakshman rekha".
Meanwhile, the Congress today dismissed BJP charge that the change of position by the party led to deferment in the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill and said it continued to favour passage of the Bill in the current session of Parliament.
Mr Jogi as also another party spokesperson, Ms Girija Vyas, said that the party respected the direction of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, deferring introduction of the measure for a few days to enable evolving a consensus. They said the government should not make an "excuse" of the deferment.
The Left parties accused the BJP of not being serious on the Women’s Reservation Bill and said the party was trying to take advantage of the differences among a section of members in the Lok Sabha.
"The BJP wants to delay the Bill and is trying to take undue advantage of the differences among a small group of MPs," Left party leaders said at a joint press conference here.