New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Monday said they had decided to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government over differences on the Women’s Reservation Bill. However, it is unlikely to impact the existence of the Congress-led government.
“We have decided to pull out. We are withdrawing the support given to the government from outside,” RJD chief Lalu Prasad told reporters outside parliament after an uproar in the two houses over the bill that seeks to reserve 33 percent of legislative seats for women.
Supporting Lalu Prasad was SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. “The government is against Muslims, Dalits and (Other Backward Classes) OBCs. We strongly oppose the government’s move to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in its present form. We will withdraw support, if the government passes the bill in the present form,” he said.
The Congress with 208 Lok Sabha MPs is the largest constituent of the UPA, which has an effective strength of 259 members. Supporting it within the government are the Trinamool Congress (19), the DMK (18), the Nationalist Congress Party (9), the National Conference (3) and the Muslim League (2). The Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, with one member each, are also part of the UPA, but not in the government.
Lending outside support to the government are: The SP (22), the Bahujan Samaj Party (21), the RJD (4), the Janata Dal-Secular (3) and the Assam United Democratic Front (1).
The BSP is also opposing the bill in its present form.
If the SP and the RJD actually pull out after fulfilling a technical formality of writing to President Pratibha Patil, the UPA still has enough members to run the government or prove its majority if asked to do so. However, the Congress may lose a buffer support after the SP and RJD decision.
Lalu Prasad said the RJD was not opposed to the bill per se.
“We are not opposing the bill per se. We want, and the nation wants, that the reservation should be given to backward women who don’t have resources. The real India should be empowered. Give them 50 percent reservation. We will not oppose that,” the RJD chief said said in the joint news conference with Mulayam Singh.
“The government is trying to force the bill on us,” an angry Lalu Prasad shouted.
Both the leaders demanded “quota within quota” for the Dalits, Muslims, other minorities and OBCs.