The Hindu : Front Page : It's like an onion, says Lalu

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Friday, Mar 12, 2010
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It's like an onion, says Lalu

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday claimed that several Members of Parliament were calling him up and asking him to “save them” from losing their constituencies by stalling the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill.

Mr. Prasad said there would be “total destruction” if the Bill was passed. “We [leaders] will make it [to Parliament] but where will you go,'' he said, while pointing to Congress member Jitin Prasada, who tried to intervene as he spoke against the Bill.

Mr. Prasad described the proposed Bill as an onion that would bring tears to the eyes of the members when they peel it. He said he even told Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Basudeb Acharia that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had taken the lead in West Bengal and even he pinned his hopes on her support.

The Trinamool had abstained from voting in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, saying that the Congress did not take it into confidence.

Mr. Prasad told Speaker Meira Kumar that it was not his fashion to rush to the well and shout slogans. “When a person does not listen, then it is necessary to go closer to him and speak. Don't take it otherwise, madam,” he said drawing laughter from the members. “The more you listen to us, the less we will march towards the Well,” he said.

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