New Delhi:
No consensus yet on the Women's Reservation Bill, but sources have told NDTV that the Congress now has a masterstroke up its sleeve to divide those who have joined forces to oppose the bill.
This after the Congress's troubleshooter-in-chief Pranab Mukherjee's failed to bring about a consensus on the bill, that provides 33% reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, at an all-party meet held on Monday.
They came, they met, and they left, without arriving at a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill. But all is not lost, especially for the government, which for now has put the bill on the back-burner.
The meeting used to put forth the Congress's masterstroke of divide and rule and ensure that the Finance Bill is passed in this session.
For this the Congress needs Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who have been threatening to go with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left against the UPA's Union budget.
So, to placate them, the government has now proposed a discussion on the Ranganath Mishra report that recommends 15% reservation for minorities in jobs and education. The strategy is to break Opposition unity in Parliament.
Government's readiness to discuss Ranganath report is likely to placate Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav. The splintered Opposition will give government more time on the Women's Reservation Bill. The government strategy to isolate BJP by breaking Opposition unity in Parliament. So, it's a win-win situation for the government.
The Left can't go with the BJP, and in any case the pressure built by Mamata Banerjee over quota for Muslim women is making West Bengal's ruling Left soften its stand on quota within quota for Muslim women.
"This is not constitutionally possible. But we are not opposed to looking at a proposal if brought by the government," says Basudev Acharya, CPM MP.
The opposition to the women's bill and the quest for consensus is helping the government buy time to push its financial agenda. Otherwise questions are being asked, why consensus when Rajya Sabha has already passed the bill and the numbers are just right in the Lok Sabha.
"What is the need for this exercise? We don't know why the government is doing it. One House has already passed the bill," says CPM leader Brinda Karat.
Despite the UPA, BJP and the Left controlling over 360 seats in Lok Sabha, the Women's Reservation Bill, it seems, is walking an old familiar road. And it might well need a strong push from Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha as she did in the Upper House.