9th March 2010

Lalu Prasad Yadav Against the Women's reservation bill in parliament and rajya sabha threatened to withdraw support from the centre NDA alliance if the bill is passed without modfications stating reservation for OBC's and Muslims in it.

The long-held belief of Rajya Sabha being the House of solemnity and intellectual superiority can lay in rest as a stunned nation on Monday watched chairperson Hamid Ansari getting nearly assaulted by a bunch of Samajwadi Party and RJD members, hell bent on getting their voice heard through intimidation.

Given the earlier protests by SP and RJD over women's quota Bill, disruptions were expected. But few had thought it would take the form it did, with SP's Nandkishore Yadav rushing up to the Chairman. By the time Ansari adjourned the House, mikes on his table were removed and papers snatched.

The assault on the Chairman of Rajya Sabha was led by Subhash Yadav (RJD), Rajniti Prasad (RJD), Kamal Akhtar (SP) and Ejaz Ali (JD-U). No one from the treasury benches rushed to save Hamid or at least intervene to save the situation.

Though Nitish Kumar from JDU continued to support the bill. Even as the issue of support to the women's reservation Bill in Parliament led to fissures in Bihar's ruling JD(U) with CM Nitish Kumar and party chief Sharad Yadav falling foul with each other, Nitish on Monday reiterated his support to the Bill.
He said "There's no change in my stand. There are certain people who are criticising me but I am firm and ready to face its consequences,'' Nitish said during a function of the party's women cell on Women's Day.
The women cell chief, Usha Sinha, said what prompted the UPA government to bring the women's Bill in Parliament was the introduction of 50% reservation for women in Bihar panchayat and civic bodies by the Nitish government. "The credit for the Bill for reservation in the legislature therefore goes to the CM,'' she said.