RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, whose party had earlier opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill, on Friday said there should be 50 per cent reservation for women.
“Let there be 50 per cent reservation for women. Make the central hall of Parliament spacious,” he said.
“Bring OBC, minority, Muslim women, dalit women, and those who do not have representation in the mainstream.
“Now we are ready for 50 per cent reservation... But the problem emerges when it comes to giving ticket to women in the party...,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief said.
Asked for his comments on the Women’s Bill which was yet to be passed in Parliament, Mr Yadav said if the bill is not passed in 2013, it will have its impact in the 2014 elections.
Referring to the Delhi gangrape, he demanded capital punishment for rapists. “It was a brutal act. Our country’s law does not provide enough punishment for rapists... It is a maximum of seven years... rapists should be hanged,” he said.