They don't fit the bill

Sir, - The behaviour of members in the Lok Sabha over the women's reservation issue was absolutely unparliamentary. One member had the temerity to snatch from the Law Minister what he thought was a copy of the Bill and tear it up. This conduct brings disgrace to his party and the constituency which elected him. The ruckus appears to be over the failure to provide a sub-quota for OBCs and Muslims within the 33 per cent reservation for women stipulated in the Bill. The Prime Minister clarified that the issue could be decided at the discussion stage but some parties did not have the patience and perhaps wanted to show their zeal to help these categories.

But why did they fail to nominate women candidates from these communities in elections? If every party observes the principle of reservation in choosing its candidates, there will be no need for a Bill at all. Hypocrisy will not serve the cause of the downtrodden.

P. J. Bagilthaya,

Bangalore

Sir, - ``We never wanted the Bill torn up but the manner in which it was introduced forced us to tear it up'', was the Samajwadi Party leader, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav's comment. Obviously, these MPs do not draw a distinction between Parliament and their election platform.

There is need for sending a clear message to the MPs that behaviour in Parliament is non-negotiable. ``We don't care whether you wanted the Bill torn up, Mr. Mulayam but your MP has to fight his election again'' is the message which needs to be sent. Let the MP go back to the people and tell them why he resorted to physical violence and if they pardon him, then by all means he could return to Parliament.

Trivikram Krishnamurthy,

Chennai

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