Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has called for an all-party meeting for consensus on the Women’s Reservation Bill among.
Speaking to the media at the airport here on Friday on his return from Keralam, Gehlot, a senior AICC observer for Kerala assembly polls, said, “The contest in the assembly polls there has emerged as one-sided in favour of the Congress”.
The three-timer ex-CM, on his way back home after a two-day campaign tour of the Southern coastal state, held a brief chat with the media.
On a question about the government’s move on bringing (new) Women’s Reservation Bill into the Lok Sabha, he said. “Though this is a brain-child of UPA Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, all parties are in favour of this legislation. Therefore, proper consensus should be evolved accommodating general views of all and settling all essential aspects and the procedural modalities.”
This could be the best possible way to work on this matter and this can be achieved too, in an agreeable-to-all manner, the senior Congress leader said. “However, as we all know, they (BJP) have the practice (tendency) of creating disputes (fuss) on every thing and every matter”. Since they have a majority, they want to do everything in their own way, want to take decisions unilaterally, this is their psyche”, Gehlot said.
Some Time ago, the ruling dispensation was contemplating bringing this Bill for legislation after 2028, they used to say that they (the government) would go first for the delimitation and the census, thereafter they would legislate on it. But now, they want to delete two clauses from the Bill, hence draft a fresh Bill to pass a new Act, that is why they are contemplating the present move, he added.
On poll scenario in Kerala, Gehlot said, “The situation in Trivandrum is good, conducive to the Congress, incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is confronting strong wave of anti-incumbency; promises commitments made by the Leftist leadership 5 years back could not be kept. This factor is going to be a potential issue against the present regime.
“So, I believe that the election will be a one – sided affair for the Congress”, he concluded.