Tuesday, August 23 2005 15:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Lucknow: Demanding that provision for reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies be reduced to 10 per cent instead of the proposed 33 per cent, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today (Aug 23, 2005) said the onus of fielding women candidates from any seat should be left to the parties and not the Election Commission.

"There are glaring deficiencies in the proposed bill and only women of higher strata will stand to benefit from it," the Samajwadi Party (SP) President said referring to the Women's Reservation Bill at a news conference in Lucknow.

"The provision for reservation of women should be confined to only 10 per cent instead of the proposed 33 per cent and the onus of fielding women candidates from any seat be left to the parties and not the Election Commission," Yadav said.

He said that Samajwadi Party was in favour of providing reservation to women 'but it should not be done at the cost of men.'

"The bill is intended to eliminate the leadership among the minorities especially Muslims and Backwards," he alleged and added that he would soon embark on a countrywide tour to create public opinion against the bill and 'expose the Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) connivance" on the issue.

"The Congress and the BJP have joined hands on the issue though neither has the mandate to effect such a major amendment in the constitution," he said.

Yadav said he would not object if the reservation was increased to 15 or 20 per cent but the onus for fielding women must be left with the political parties and not the EC.

"There is no country in the world barring South Africa where there is a reservation for women but there also it is only ten per cent," he claimed.