No voting on women's bill today, all-party meet tomorrow

Opposition snatches papers from Hamid Ansari

NEW DELHI: The voting on the women's reservation bill in Rajya Sabha will not take place today. The Prime Minister has postponed for today the all-party meet on the issue.

The meeting has probably been put off to buy time for the government to finalise the floor strategy.

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, discussed the floor strategy with key UPA allies, including Sharad Pawar and T R Baalu.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till tomorrow.

Earlier, the landmark Women's Reservation Bill was moved for consideration in the Rajya Sabha on Monday amidst unprecedented scenes of pandemonium with members of the SP, BSP and the RJD trying to attack Chairman Hamid Ansari.

While some members, including RJD's Rajniti Prasad, tore the copy of the Bill, Kamal Akhtar and Nand Kishore Yadav of the SP and some others tried to reach the Chair raising slogans against the bill.

The SP and RJD members tried to uproot the mike on the table of the Chairman and threw the stationery placed on it. The security attendants immediately swung into action and shielded the Chairman to prevent the agitated members from climbing on the table.

The unprecedented pandemonium was witnessed as soon as law minister M Veerappa Moily moved for consideration of the Bill which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Meanwhile, when the Lok Sabha, which was earlier adjourned twice on the same issue, reassembled at 2pm, members of these parties led by RJD chief Lalu Prasad, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, stormed the well shouting slogans.

As the slogan-shouting continued, Trinamool Congress members including its chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee, were seen singing the famous song -- "We shall overcome some day".

Other Trinamool members, including minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi, chief whip Sudip Bandopadhyay and cine-star turned MP Shatabdi Roy, were heard singing the song in the House.

As the din continued, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the House till 1500 hours.

Earlier in the day, SP, BSP and RJD members on Monday strongly opposed the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, with one of them even trying to climb the Speaker's podium, leading to adjournment of the House for the second time till 2pm. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned after huge protests.

The bill, created storm in the Lok Sabha soon after Speaker Meira Kumar welcomed a Croatian delegation and read out a reference on International Women's Day.

The moment Kumar called for Question Hour, SP, BSP and RJD members trooped into the Well demanding quotas for OBC, Dalit and Muslim women within the proposed law to reserve 33 per cent seats in Parliament and State assemblies for the fair sex.

The Speaker refused to adjourn the House and carried on with the Question Hour. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav gestured his party members to move forward and himself marched to the Well from the side of the treasury benches. Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) and Lalu Prasad and Umashanker Singh (both RJD) followed Yadav.

Mithilesh Kumar (SP) tried to climb the table placed in front of the Speaker prompting Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee to request Yadav to control his members.

On the SP chief's directive, the members retreated a bit but stayed put in the Well and continued to raise slogans.

The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned after Samajwadi Party members demanded that question hour be suspended to discuss the Women's Reservation Bill. When the house assembled at 11am, Chairman Hamid Ansari read out a message on the international Women's Day saying that among others "women have to be included in the decision making process".

As soon as he finished, Kamal Akhtar and other SP members were on their feet demanding that the report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice (retd) Ranganath Misra be discussed.

Ansari ruled it out on the ground that no notice had been served for this. As a handful of SP members advanced to towards the chairman's podium, Ansari adjourned the House.