Voting in the Rajya Sabha on the Women's Reservation Bill was deferred by a day on Monday.
Earlier, the landmark Women's Reservation Bill was moved for consideration in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm on Monday amidst unprecedented scenes of pandemonium, with members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party trying to attack Chairman Hamid Ansari. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned after that.
While some members, including RJD's Rajniti Prasad, tore the copy of the bill, Kamal Akhtar and Nand Kishore Yadav of the SP tried to reach the chairman, raising slogans against the bill.
The SP and RJD members tried to uproot the mike on the table of the chairman and threw away the stationery placed on it.
The security attendants immediately swung into action and shielded Ansari to prevent the agitated members from climbing on the table.
The RJP and the SP withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance government over their opposition to the bill, after disrupting the Rajya Sabha proceedings repeatedly, which forced Ansari to adjourn the House thrice.
SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, vociferously opposed the bil.
Members of Parliament from the SP, RJD and BSP rushed to the well of the House repeatedly. One of them even tried to climb atop the table in front of the chairman, which led the latter to hastily adjourn the House.
UPA leaders are determined to pass the historic bill in the Rajya Sabha on March 8, to make a symbolic gesture on International Women's Day.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee and Congress leader Ahmed Patel held an emergency meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi to chalk out a strategy to tackle the stiff opposition from a handful of members led by the SP and the RJD, said sources.
Members of the UPA parties are planning a definite floor strategy to successfully counter the disruption anticipated from SP, RJD and BSP members.
The Rajya Sabha session convened again at 2 pm, but had to be adjourned within barely a minute due to the chaos created by members of the SP and the RJD, who again rushed to the well of the House. The MPs tore up the bill and tried to pull of the microphone of the RS chairman. It was again adjourned at 3 pm. Voting on the bill will now take place at 6 pm.
Ansari then asked Congress leader and Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily to move the bill for consideration, even as the opposing MPs continued with the orchestrated pandemonium.
After Moily moved the bill, the Speaker averred that the bill had been moved and invited the MPs for a discussion, but the House was adjourned soon after.
The RS saw almost full attendance by members, as the main parties, including Congress, BJP and the Left, have issued whips to their members to be present and ensure that the bill is passed.
While the UPA does not have majority in the Upper House, it is banking on the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties for the smooth passage of the Constitution (108th Amendment) bill, which will require two-third majority in both the Houses.
Initially, members who are demanding sub-quotas within the bill for women from backward classes, minority groups, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, prevented Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath from introducing the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
With SP and RJD members loudly shouting slogans against the bill, she had to finally give up her attempts to read out its salient features and laid it on her table instead.
Later, Lalu Prasad told reporters that he and Mulayam Singh Yadav were not opponents of the bill, as was being portrayed by the ruling UPA. He claimed that they were just trying to ensure that women from the deprived sections of society were granted a fair representation in the Parliament.
The chiefs of the two parties accused the government of being 'anti-Dalit, anti-minority and anti-backward'.
The Sharad Yadav-led Janata Dal-United, which had hitherto opposed the bill, softened its stance today, saying the party will take a final decision about supporting the bill just before voting begins in the Upper House.
With inputs from PTI
