Jaitley rues 'shameful incidents' in Rajya Sabha

(Credit: IANS) The BJP "unequivocally" supported the women's reservation bill, party MP Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday, but added that the privilege of supporting it had been diluted by "some of most shameful incidents in India's parliamentary history".

The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who spoke after the constitution amendment bill had been put to vote by Chairman Hamid Ansari, said he had a feeling of being a party to history in the making when he came to the house.

"It is a historic responsibility in enacting one of the most progressive legislations. We unequivocally support it," Jaitley said.

However, he said the privilege of supporting the bill, which seeks to reserve a third of seats in all legislatures, had been diluted by "some of most shameful incidents in India's parliamentary history".

The BJP leader said the situation should have been handled better. The house saw uproarious scenes as members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in particular opposed the bill by shouting slogans.