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Opposition walkout over Women's Reservation Bill

The Congress, the Left parties and the AIADMK today staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha protesting against the government's failure to commit itself to the passage of Women's Reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament.

The House plunged into noisy scenes when leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi took strong exception to the inordinate delay in the introduction the bill.

An angry Samajwadi Party member walked into the well of the House protesting against what he called an attempt to rush the bill through.

Responding to Gandhi's demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said the government would introduce the bill in the current session.

The House again witnessed noisy scenes when the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had ganged up to stifle the rights of the backward classes, the scheduled castes and the minorities.

The Congress members were insisting that the bill be included in tomorrow's agenda. When there was no response, Congress members led by Sonia Gandhi staged a walk out. They were joined a little later by the Left parties and the AIADMK.

The Women's Reservation Bill, seeking to provide 33 per cent quota for them in the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures, was introduced when the United Front was in power three years ago.

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