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The Congress said on Wednesday that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad did not give any dissent note to the Women's Reservation Bill despite being a member of the Parliamentary Committee concerned, which went into the measure.
Party sources said Prasad, who has now been crying hoarse over the bill, which provides for 33 percent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and assemblies, had attended only one meeting of the Committee.
"Only two members from the Samajwadi Party, Virendra Bhatia and Shailendra Kumar, gave a note for reducing the quota from 33 percent to 20 percent," a party leader said.
Meanwhile at the All India Congress Committee briefing, Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said the Women's Reservation Bill would not be diluted and it will be brought and passed in Lok Sabha in its original form.
"We are fully confident that all our allies will be with us and the Women's Reservation Bill will be passed in Lok Sabha," she said ruling out any reduction in the quota despite the Nationalist Congress Party suggesting that a reduction could lead to a consensus.
To a question whether the party is confident of passing the bill in its original form without introducing quota within quota, Natarajan said, "Obviously. We will be able to get the women bill passed... We want to pass it in the same format."
She said the standing committee on the Bill had considered all aspects and came to the conclusion that the bill should be passed as it is, as trying to introduce any change will lead to further delays.
She also said the party, as of now, is of the view that the "bill should be passed by Lok Sabha in the same form in which it has been passed by Rajya Sabha".