In a statement issued here, Mr. Yadav said that if the Bill was passed in its present form, after 10 years, there would be no representation for men in the Lok Sabha and in the State Assemblies.

Mulayam said a time would come when experienced leaders belonging to various political parties would be outside the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Elaborating his viewpoint, Mr. Yadav said that the 33 per cent women elected to the Lok Sabha would not like quit their seats after completion of their term, adding that there would no legal bar to prevent them from contesting the polls.

“The fact remains through rotation in next elections 33 per cent other seats would be reserved for women; thus after the sixth year, there would be 66 per cent women and after 11 years the percentage of women in Lok Sabha would be 99,” Mulayam explained.

The SP chief said even if 10 per cent of the sitting members were changed, after 11 years, the Lok Sabha would have women's representation ranging from 80 to 85 per cent.

Talking about reservation for Dalit, Backward and Muslim women, Mulayam said since 1952, as many as 7906 MPs had been elected. But out of this, only 14 Muslim women had managed to get elected. He further said the maximum number of Muslim women getting elected to the Lok Sabha was three in the 15th Lok Sabha — two from UP and one from West Bengal.

Mulayam said the women who managed to win the elections were family members of former central ministers, chief ministers, MPs or MLAs. Mulayam said no woman from a poor family could be elected to the Lok Sabha.

The Samajwadi Party, he said, wanted amendment to the Women's Reservation Bill to safeguard the interests of Dalit, Backward and Muslim women.

The law should be so framed, he added, that all political parties should have quota fixed for giving women reservation at the time of allotting tickets; and the Election Commission should have the right to debar the political party which violated the norms, he added.

Referring to Dalit women, Mulayam said although the proposed bill had reservation for them, it was within the reservation for Dalits which would be a threat to established leaders of this community. That is why reservation for Dalit women should be made from outside.

Making his stand clear, Mulayam said neither he nor his party was against reservation for women. They were only opposing the present form of the bill.

Mulayam also admitted former minister Dr Masood Ahmad, who was with the BSP at one point of time, into the Samajwadi Party. (IPA)