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Sunday, May 02, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

BJP revives Women's Bill in campaign

Luv Puri

Jammu

In sharp contrast to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's appeal here on April 14 to reach a consensus on the Permanent Resident Disqualification Bill, 2004, the Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, has stuck a different note. In his poll campaign in the State, he has revived the women's bill as an election issue and demanded an explanation from the Congress.

The bill, which was sidelined during the first two phases of the Parliamentary elections in the State, has again been brought to centre stage by the BJP. The bill, passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, debars women from the State who marry outside from retaining their Permanent Resident certificate. This is an important document in the State; it is needed for State Government jobs, getting admission into professional colleges and for availing of the special privileges to which the residents of the State are entitled. The bill, which is pending before the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, had sparked a huge controversy in the State, with political parties divided on the issue. The People's Democratic Party favoured the bill, but its ally, the Congress, wanted it to be referred to a select committee.

On Friday, Mr. Advani launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying the party owed an explanation over its role in the drafting of the bill, "which was anti-women." Political observers say that it is part of the BJP strategy to rake up the issue now as the passage of the bill directly affects the electorate in Kathua district of the Udhampur Parliamentary segment and the people living in neighbouring states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

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