Meira hints she is against caste count
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who completed one year in office on Thursday, has indicated she is not in favour of a caste census, saying she has always worked towards a casteless society.
65-year-old Kumar, a former foreign service officer and a five-term MP, also described as speculation that she may come back to politics possibly as Congress’ chief ministerial candidate for Bihar.
“I have always worked towards a casteless society. The aim of the founding fathers of the Constitution has been to establish casteless society. Anything which leads to that it would take us further to that direction is welcome by me,” Ms Kumar told NDTV.
On the Women’s Reservation Bill, Ms Kumar pitched for a political consensus in the Lok Sabha, where she made it clear that a repeat of the Rajya Sabha was not favourable.
Ms Kumar said she would not like marshals to be used for the purpose of the passage of the legislation.
“I think it is very important for various parties, all the parties, to arrive at a consensus,” said Ms Kumar, who is also a former union minister.
When asked whether she will allow the bill to be pushed through in the Lok Sabha the way it was in the Rajya Sabha where marshals had to be summoned to remove some MPs, Kumar said “I don’t like the role of any marshals for this purpose.”
“I have great respect for my MPs,” Ms Kumar said.
To a question about the talk of her going back to politics and the possibility of becoming Congress’ chief ministerial candidate in Bihar in future, Kumar said “these are speculation and you are asking me to comment on a speculation which I don’t think it would be proper for me to do.”
On the moves to push Question Hour to a different time in an attempt to minimise frequent disruptions, Ms Kumar said she would like to arrive at a consensus. “That is what everybody wants...That is how we would like to proceed.”
Question Hour reforms have been high on Ms Kumar’s agenda in her first year in office.
Question Hour starts at 11 AM to kickstart Parliament proceedings each day. There have been suggestions to have this segment in the afternoon.
In a landmark decision, Ms Kumar, the first woman to hold the high office, had ruled that in the absence of the member, the Speaker shall have the authority to direct that the answer to the Question be raised in the House.
The decision came in the wake of a rare occurrence of 17 starred questions going unanswered in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour in the absence of members who raised these queries. —PTI
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