New Delhi, April 2 Amid indications that the government may introduce a bill to increase seats in the Lok Sabha to implement reservations for women in the legislature, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the House would be adjourned and would reconvene soon to discuss a "very important" bill.
In the Upper House, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked about the government's plan.
Rijiju, in response, said that the Upper House would take up the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill for passage on Thursday, which was scheduled to be the last day of the Parliament's budget session.
He added, "We have certain important issues, and we have shared this with the Opposition as well. We are going to have a very important bill in the next 2-3 weeks."
"Today, the government will propose that the House be adjourned, and we will reconvene very soon. The purpose of this is known to the members," he said.
The government has been holding back-channel talks with the Opposition to introduce at least two bills to implement the women's reservation law and to separate delimitation from the Census to increase seats in the Lok Sabha from the present 546 to 861.
Ramesh, however, said that the Opposition has demanded that the all-party meeting that the government intends to call should be held once the assembly elections are over on April 29.
Rijiju, however, replied that the government is bound to fulfill its promise to the women of the country.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Khare, meanwhile, said that the Congress supports reservations for women in the legislature, but the proposed bills are important and have long-term implications.
He also alleged that the government is trying to gain political mileage by introducing the bills as states are going to the polls. Rijiju, however, denied the charge and said that the issue should not be politicized.
