The Hindu : National : JD(U) sticks to stand on quota within quota for Dalit women

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JD(U) sticks to stand on quota within quota for Dalit women

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Contrary to the claims made by the Bharatiya Janata Party that all the National Democratic Alliance parties had agreed to the new formula of providing for 33 per cent reservation for women in the allotment of party ticket for Assembly and Parliamentary polls, the Janata Dal (United) on Thursday announced that it did not approve of the formula and stuck to its stand.

JD (U) president Sharad Yadav said the party was for reservation within reservation for Dalit women. “Our party’s stand is totally different. We want quota within the quota for Dalit women and it should be proportionate to their population,” Mr. Yadav said when asked about the BJP stand that the government should go ahead with the formula of the Election Commission to provide for 33 per cent reservation for women in the allotment of party ticket. Mr. Yadav’s comments come a day ahead of the proposed rally by the BJP Mahila Morcha in support of the demand for quota for women.

Mr. Yadav said that unless this was done his party would not support the Bill in Parliament. This brings to the fore the fissures within the NDA over the issue.

Mr. Yadav said the JD (U) Parliamentary Party will meet in Delhi on February 25, the day budget session of Parliament starts, to discuss the issues to be raised. Suicide by farmers, famine-like situation in Bundelkhand of Uttar Pradesh, the rise in prices of essential commodities and problems facing the retail sector are the issues identified by the party.

On the auctioning of cricket players for the Indian Premier League, Mr. Yadav termed it as “vulgar display of wealth” and demanded recovery of all cash assistance to them so that the money could be utilised for the promotion of other games.

‘National shame’

“It was a day of national shame when cricketers were put on auction. It is a vulgar display of wealth and shameless demonstration of money power,” he said.

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