LUCKNOW: Amid speculations that the women's reservation bill will be tabled in the parliament, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday sought to know the share of the backward castes, tribals, and Dalits in it.
"As far as this bill is concerned, our stand is how much reservation will the backward get under the bill. We had opposed the bill when it was presented by the Congress-led UPA government, and today, when the BJP is bringing it, we are still not in complete agreement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI.
"We want justice for women and also want reservation for them. But what would be the quantum of reservation to backwards, tribals, Dalits?" Chaudhary asked.
He said a final decision on whether to support the Bill will be taken in Delhi, since senior party leaders Ramgopal Yadav and Dimple Yadav are there.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then Samajwadi Party president, had in 2009 opposed the proposal of the Women's Reservation Bill, calling it a "conspiracy" against the politicians who had reached the Lok Sabha through "hard struggles" and warned of a people's movement if the UPA pushes the legislation.
He had at least twice courted controversy for his remarks on how the reservation would benefit only affluent women.
Two years earlier, when the bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha for approval in March 2010, Yadav had said, “The Women’s Reservation Bill, if passed in the present format, would provoke young men to whistle in parliament.”
Yadav, whose party was supporting the government then from outside, had backed JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav's contention, who said if the Bill is passed without a consensus, it would tantamount to administering of "poison by force" by the ruling class to those against the Bill as had been done to Greek philosopher Socrates who was forced to drink hemlock on trumped up charges.
Union Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel on Monday posted on X that the Cabinet has approved the women's reservation bill, but deleted the post within an hour.
While there was no official word on what transpired in the Cabinet meeting Monday, which lasted for more than 90 minutes, speculations were rife that it approved the women's reservation bill.
"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations Narendra Modi ji and congratulations to the Modi government," the minister said in the now-deleted post on X.
Patel is the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti.
Government sources had earlier indicated that the bill has been approved by the Cabinet and is likely to be tabled in Parliament.
(With inputs from Online Desk)