Bills To Create Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh Soon: Bjp

The ruling BJP yesterday declared that the government would bring Bills for creating a separate Uttaranchal out of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh out of Madhya Pradesh in the remaining eight days of the current session of Parliament.

The Congress on the other hand, claimed that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had promised to a delegation of women Mps and representatives of non-government women's organisations yesterday that the Women's Reservation Bill which is already pending before the Lok Sabha, would be brought up for consideration and passing in the remaining days of the current session.

The separate Chhattisgarh and the Uttaranchal bills have been returned with approval by the respective state Assemblies to the Centre.

 

The third proposal of the Centre, to create a separate Vananchal State out of Bihar, has also been returned by the Bihar Assembly, but with as many as 59 amendments. Due to this, a Bill on Vananchal may not be possible in the current session of Parliament.

Stating this, BJP spokesman M Venkaiah Naidu said his NDA government was committed to the creation of the three separate states.

Naidu's colleagues from the hill areas of Uttar Pradesh, yesterday took a delegation to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee urging him that the entire district of Haridwar should be included in the proposed Uttaranchal. According to the proposal sent by the Centre to the UP Assembly only rural areas falling under the district was proposed to be included in Uttaranchal.

Congress spokesman Margaret Alva told reporters that Vajpayee told the women delegation members that he was all for passing the women's bill but there were some members and parties who were totally against the Bill. Such members were blocking a consensus.

To this, women delegation members told him that never in the history of the Parliament, any bill, including ones to raise the salaries of members, had ever been unanimously adopted.

In such a case, why should the Prime Minister wait for a consensus on the women's reservation issue.

The delegation members also pointed out how on issues like banning dowry and giving property rights to daughters there was no consensus in the nation but the parliament took the lead and showed a way to the society.