Protests at any cost, say Lalu and Mulayam

RJD leader Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said they would stall proceedings in Parliament, irrespective of the consequences, if the government pushed through the Women's Reservation Bill.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said they would stall proceedings in Parliament, irrespective of the consequences, if the government pushed through the Women's Reservation Bill.

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"We will use our democratic rights fully whatever the consequences. They (the government) can get us thrown out," Lalu Prasad told reporters in the presence of Mulayam Singh.

Both SP and the RJD are fiercely opposed to the bill. "This is political dacoity. It won't be tolerated," Lalu Prasad said.

Mulayam Singh said the party MPs were not worried if they lose their membership in protest over the bill.

He said that the bill, which seeks to reserve 33 per cent seats in legislatures for women, should provide quota for the minorities, Dalits and the backward classes.