Standing Committee to submit report in first week of Aug

Mumbai, Jun 27 (UNI) The Standing Committee of Parliament, now holding consultations on the women's reservation bill, is expected to submit its report by the first week of August to enable its passage in the monsoon session.

Committee Chairman E M Sudarsasana Natchiappan told newsmen here that most of the national and regional political parties, which had deposed before the Committee, were of the view that the bill envisaging 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament, should be passed in its present form and if there was unanimity among all political parties, the passage could be successful with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha endorsing it with a two third majority.

Asked about the opposition to the bill by the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Janata Dal (U), Mr Natchiappan expressed confidence that a near unanimity would be achieved.

He was full of confidence that the reservation bill which is making it fourth entry into the parliament in the last 12 years, would be successfull this time. However there has to be unanimity among all parties He said the Committee would, if necessary, visit Patna and hold its sittings for North and also in Delhi to elicite views from the interested political paties and non governmental organisations. He said on July eight, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Ms Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party would depose before the committee.

He said the Committee had already visited Kolkotta and Chennai and heard views from the political parties in the respective regions.

Mr Shailendra Kumar of Samajwadi MP from Uttar Pradesh, later separately told UNI that his party was against any reservation and the matter should be left to individual political parties. As it is, reservations to women in local body elections had witnessed that the husbands of the elected members have a dominant role in the respective constituencies, with the women members having no say, he added.

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