Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday described the Women's Reservation Bill as a "very dangerous idea that could change the Lok Sabha's look."
Warning of widespread protests if the Bill was passed sans sub-quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities, Yadav proposed the quota bar be lowered to 15 per cent and an end to the rotational formula. Alleging that the Bill was presented in the Rajya Sabha without consensus, the SP president told media-persons the government had sinister designs and wanted to get it passed before the forthcoming general elections.
Yadav claimed veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee had admitted to the shortcomings in the Bill during his tenure as prime minister. The Election Commission had earlier suggested political parties should be allowed to implement a quota within their organisation failing which they could face derecognition, Yadav said.