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Slamming the women's reservation bill as a "dangerous" one, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged on Sunday that it was a conspiracy to prevent Muslims, backwards and Dalits from entering Parliament and state assemblies.
"The SP is not against reservation to women, but we are against the present format of the bill, which is a big conspiracy by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to prevent Muslims, backwards and Dalits to get elected to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas," Yadav, whose party has steadfastly opposed the bill, told journalists.
Attacking the two parties, he said, "It's not an allegation, it's the reality as the Congress and the BJP had always been anti-Muslim, anti-backwards and anti-Dalit. Therefore, they want to amend the Constitution."
He contended that when not a single Muslim member of Parliament was elected to Parliament from several states including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana, how could a Muslim women be elected without reservation.
"This bill is dangerous... If it is enacted, Muslims and the other backward classes will be at the receiving end," he said.
"It's a big conspiracy not to allow the leadership to grow among Muslims, OBCs and Dalits," he said.
Yadav said that if the intention was to promote women, then why was reservation not being offered in government jobs and in the education sector.
"If they want uplift of women why don't they offer 40 to 50 percent reservation in government jobs or in the education sector? We have no objections," he said.
Yadav said that there were a number of political parties having women as their national president and people cannot function without their will.
"Even the Congress' national president is a woman, has the party given tickets to 33 percent women in elections, who stopped them from doing so. They can even give cent per cent tickets to women," he said, adding "they are making mockery of the democratic system."
The SP supremo claimed that even the Congress and the BJP MPs were not in favour of this bill.
"But they all are slaves, who cannot raise their voices," he said.
He said that if reservation was being extended it should be given separately to Dalit, OBC and Muslim women on the basis of their numbers within the 33 per cent quota.
"The SP will expose this conspiracy of the Congress and the BJP and we will go to the people on this issue," he added.
Yadav said that the SP has demanded that the 33 percent quota should be reduced to 20 percent.
"Even former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani accepted my suggestion," he said.
Yadav said that his party demands that instead of reserving seats, it should be made mandatory for all the political parties to be given 20 percent tickets to women candidates.
"The political parties should be directed to enusre 20 percent tickets to women and registration of a party which fails to do so should be cancelled," he said.
He said that his party would continue to oppose the bill in its present form in the Parliament.