Lucknow:
Mulayam Singh Yadav has offered a new if somewhat confounding explanation for why he's opposed to the Women's Reservation Bill.
On Tuesday, Yadav said, "If the Women's Reservation Bill goes through, it's the daughters of industrialists and big bureaucrats who will get elected. The girls who will be elected will be the sort who get whistled at by boys. I am saying this so it makes you angry."
The Bill sets aside 33 per cent seats in Parliament and state Assemblies for women.
Along with Lalu, Mulayam has opposed the Women's Bill because he claims it does not protect the rights of Dalits and Muslims. Earlier this month, both Lalu and Mulayam threatened to withdraw support to the government if the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha. (
Read: Women's Bill over my dead body, says Lalu)
A determined Sonia Gandhi urged the Congress to push the Bill anyway through the Rajya Sabha where it sailed through. (
Watch: Yes, it's a huge risk: Sonia to NDTV) However, the government has not indicated when it will introduce the bill in the Lok Sabha. Political analysts say this is the government's way of buying time to placate the Yadavs, who, between them, have 26 MPs in the Lok Sabha. (
Read: Women's Bill - the Lok Sabha challenge)
If the Yadavs decide to vote with the BJP and the Left against the government on other crucial legislation, the government could find itself in an awkward position. Without the support of the Yadavs, the government has a single-digit majority in the Lok Sabha.
Before the Bill was put to vote in the Rajya Sabha, the Prime minister met Sharad Yadav, Lalu and Mulayam together, hoping to win them over. However, they said they cannot accept the bill in its current form.
Also See:Women's Bill leaves some within BJP unhappy