9 Oct :In an effort to break the deadlock over the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Parliamentary Committee going into the issue has been given a fresh extension till 21st November to submit its report.
The panel, which was due to present its report on 8th August, has already been given two extensions as political parties remain adamant on their respective stand vis-a-vis the Bill which seeks to provide 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said "for the Congress, the Women’s bill is a small price to pay for the continuance of its government".
"The sad message for women on the occasion of Dussehra is that as far as the 14th Lok Sabha is concerned, the Bill is back in cold storage".
The Committee, headed by senior Congress MP E M Sudarshana Natchiappan, is unable to reach a consensus with major parties like RJD, Samajwadi Party and JD(U) demanding quota within quota for the OBCs among the women.
Trying to avoid submitting a report with a dissenting note, the Committee mooted the idea of raising the strength of Lok Sabha by one-third from the present 543 to around 700 instead of reserving that many seats for women.
The panel also suggested leaving the contentious OBC sub-quota issue to the states.DDINEWS