Vajpayee pitches for Women's Reservation Bill

New Delhi, Aug 19 (UNI) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today made a strong pitch for introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill in the current Lok Sabha, saying political logjam over the issue could be resolved by effecting a 1/3rd increase in the number of seats in legislative bodies and reserving them for women.

Of the many suggestions he had received, this was the ''more practical'' one, the BJP stalwart said after releasing a souvenir brought out by the party's Mahila Morcha.

In the 545-member Lok Sabha, for instance, the number of seats could be increased by 180 and these could be reserved for women, he said.

Such a step would not only address the concerns of members who fear losing their ''traditional seats'' to women under the quota regime, it would also ensure better management of population and constituency area by elected representatives, he said.

Rubbishing criticism that the Lok Sabha could not ''accommodate'' such increased number of members, he said it was not difficult for an ''emerging great power'' to construct a new hall for the purpose.

Moreover, Lok Sabha sittings could be conducted in the Central Hall of Parliament while the Rajya Sabha could sit in the current Lok Sabha hall, he said.

''Shortage of resources can not be an excuse,'' he said, expressing hope the Government would take a decision on the Women's Reservation Bill in the current Lok Sabha itself.

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