New Delhi: Filmstar-turned-MP Shabana Azmi has criticized the government for delaying the passage of the women's reservation bill that seeks to reserve 33 per cent legislative seats for women.

She has dismissed as "ridiculous and irrational" the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's argument that the bill suffers due to a lack of consensus among political parties, and called it a "delaying tactic."

"If 60 bills could be cleared without consensus the government could have brought this bill forward as well and put it to vote," Shabana told India Abroad News Service in an interview at the conclusion of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Zealously pursuing the bill since her nomination to the Rajya Sabha, Azmi doubted the motive of the ruling coalition in insisting on a consensus on the issue of "women's empowerment". "We are only asking for sharing of power which the women rightly deserve," she said.

Azmi also blamed the male-dominated political parties, except those from the Left parties, for obstructing the bill. "The men are insecure that they would lose their seats if the bill is passed," she said.

The film star is also not hopeful of an early passage of the bill even though Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee indicated during that his government would bring the bill forward even if there were no consensus.

With state Assembly elections due in several states next year, ratification by states could get delayed even if the bill was passed in Parliament, she feared. Azmi also disagreed with the demand of a few political parties, notably the Samajwadi Party, for a review of the bill and changes in its provisions.

"The reservation bill has been exhaustively debated at various platforms, from the election commission to social organizations, where leaders and activists made various recommendations," she pointed out.

"First let us pass the bill as it is," she said in response to a section's demand that the reservation incorporate sub-quotas for the socially underprivileged classes. As every state government differed with the other in its list of other backward classes (OBCs), the change could take almost ten years to implement, she said.

Affirmative action was needed to improve women's representation in Parliament as their percentage of total MPs had risen from four per cent in the first Lok Sabha to only eight per cent in the present one, she said.

In Azmi's perception, decision-making could benefit immensely with their increased participation as women thought "differently" from men.

"They always talked about the development... the water problems, education of children and health," she said of her recent interaction with women elected to panchayats, or village councils. "But men are more bothered about constructing halls or a center and having their names on it," she said.

The controversial bill, first drafted four years ago and promised by almost all major political parties in their election manifestos, has languished through two governments each of the United Front and the BJP-led coalition.

But Azmi also agreed that a majority of women's organizations were disunited on the issue. She, however, dismissed a dominant argument that the number of women qualified for people's representation was small. "If this is the logic, I can say the same about men... this is very demeaning," she said.

While agreeing that in some cases the women elected to panchayats might have been "proxy" candidates for men, she said, "But in my state Maharashtra, empowerment of women has been brought about only through the panchayat system."

Azmi condemned the recent legislation in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh that disqualifies contestants who have over two children. "This is anti- women as they have no control on child-bearing," she said.

Azmi also opposed the election commission's suggestion that political parties allocate 30 percent seats to women candidates. "The parties may give weak seats to women... they will never make it to Parliament," she said.

India Abroad News Service