New Delhi:
The BJP's senior-most leaders, including Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, are meeting with the party's MPs to discuss concerns over the Women's Bill, which was passed on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha.
Swaraj has reportedly announced that the BJP will issue a whip for the Lok Sabha's vote on the bill.
(Read: Women's Bill - The Lok Sabha challenge)The BJP has staunchly supported the bill, and the government's efforts to push it through, despite opposition from Mulayam and Lalu Yadav. In the Rajya Sabha, during the debate on the bill before the vote, the BJP's Arun Jaitley praised the bill as a huge step forward for women. The bill sets aside 33% seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women.
(Read: Slighted Yadavs plan their next attack)Before the bill was put to vote, marshals were asked to evict unruly MPs from the Rajya Sabha. Most of them were from Lalu and Mulayam's parties. Their disruptive behaviour had forced the Rajya Sabha to adjourn at least eight times on Monday and Tuesday, ensuring that the bill could not be discussed.
(Read: Will suspended MPs return to Rajya Sabha?)However, many of the BJP's MPs feel that these MPs should not have been forcibly removed from the House. Other BJP MPs from the Lok Sabha have reportedly shared concerns that the Women's Bill will not go down well in their constituencies.
Speaking to NDTV, Sonia Gandhi said that she cannot commit to whether the bill will be moved in the Lok Sabha in this session. Government sources say they will focus first on putting the Budget or Finance Bill to vote. Without the Yadavs, who have 26 MPs between them in the Lok Sabha, the government finds itself with a single-digit majority in the Lok Sabha, and in an even weaker position in the Rajya Sabha, where it 's already in a minority. So the government wants time to woo back the Yadavs, and to ensure its allies like Mamata Banerjee are standing firmly by it. The danger is that the Yadavs may start voting with the Left and the BJP against the government on key legislation.
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