Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 8 (ANI): The all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manomhan Singh, to discuss differences over the Women’s Reservation Bill, was postponed to Tuesday just after it was briefly held at 4.15 p.m. on Monday amidst protest by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party and to form a better floor strategy in the House. The Bill will not be passed in the Rajya Sabha today, said a private news channel. The government decided not to hold a discussion on the Women’s Reservation Bill on Monday following a huge opposition ruckus in Parliament today.Earlier, the Prime Minister had called for an all-party meeting from 4.15 p.m. in the hope of arriving at a political consensus and avoid the Bill being put to a voice vote later this evening.Prior to this, the Prime Minister has had meetings with Congress stalwarts Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel and P.K.Bansal, UPA allies and with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. The latter two have announced a withdrawal of outside support to the government over the issue. Meanwhile, in another development, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitely, and Communist Party of India leader Sitaram Yechury called on Prime Minister Dr. Singh. BJP leader Jaitely reportedly suggested the Bill be passed after discussion, while Yechury advocated passage of the Bill without discussion. (ANI)