LDALL WOMEN 2

Though nothing was officially said by the government the
leaders came with the impression that the Prime Minister would
call an all-party meeting Tuesday, a demand made by the
opponents, apparently to discuss a way out for adopting the
legislation in a harmonious way.
The opponents of the Bill as also the BJP asserted that
the measure should be discussed and voted and cannot be
hustled through in uproar, though the Left parties appeared to
favour passage without discussion.
After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Lalu Prasad
said the opponents could reconsider their views on withdrawal
of support if the government brought amendments to the Bill.
Short of a blame game, the BJP and the Left parties
said the government should have had a proper strategy to
ensure passage of the bill while the Congress attacked the
opponents of resorting to disruptive methods which he called
as "shame" in a democracy.
Earlier at 1400 hours after two adjourments, the bill
reserving one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies was
moved in the Rajya Sabha for consideration by the Law Minister
M Veerappa Moily amid unprecedented pandemonium.
SP and RJD members created unruly scenes since morning,
forcing repeated adjournments of the House but the government,
banking on the support from BJP and the Left, appeared
determined to push through with the bill on the centenary of
the International Women's Day.
Nand Kishore Yadav and Kamal Akhtar of SP led the
combined offensive of his party and RJD. Yadav virtually tried
to get physical with the Chairman by attempting to climb on to
the podium. (MORE) PTI