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NEW DELHI: A gender war is brewing in the standing committee that will soon scrutinise the controversial bill providing 33% reservation to women in parliament and state legislatures.

The 31-member parliament panel on law and justice did not have a single woman member till last week, though there were seven vacancies. Major parties such as the Congress, the BJP and the CPI(M) backing the bill noticed the gender gap, with the BJP nominating former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah and the Congress inducting Prabha Thakur. Four more vacancies were yet to be filled up. On Tuesday, the CPI(M) followed suit, nominating firebrand politburo member Brinda Karat. 

To counter the women power and upper-caste Congress and BJP members, the RJD replaced its junior member Sadhu Yadav (brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad) with former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, a known opponent of the bill.

RJD sources said Lalu had given tactical support to the UPA for introduction of the bill, not its adoption. A day after the bill was tabled, Devendra Prasad went ballistic even warning the UPA of withdrawal of support if the bill was adopted without a sub-quota for OBC women.

The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on May 7 with powerful women legislatures such as Renuka Chowdhury, Ambika Soni, Jayanti Nataragajan forming a human wall to protect minister for law and justice HR Bhardwaj from the OBC members of the Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party and the RJD who tried to snatch the bill from the minister.

After the introduction, the bill was referred to the standing committee and the understanding is that the panel would clear the legislation by August.

Devendra Prasad told DNA his party would not clear the bill without a sub quota. 

Committee chairperson and Congress MP EM Sudarsana Natchiappan has asked political parties to give their views on the quota issue by June 10. The panel is expected to meet on May 27. Natchiappan has decided to ask party leaders to appear before the panel on June 17 and 18 to give their opinion.

Source : DNAIndia