New Delhi: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday suggested an increase in the Lok Sabha strength to have 180 seats exclusively for women.
But party colleague and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj contested the proposal as a "time-waste" exercise.
At the launch of the BJP Mahila Morcha's magazine Smarth, Vajpayee also suggested that the Central Hall of Parliament be converted into the Lok Sabha because it has greater seating capacity.
But in the same publication that Vajpayee released, Sushma, says the idea to increase seats in Parliament should be dropped as "impractical".
"Recently, a proposal came from the Home Minister to increase seats of Parliament by 33 per cent and give them to women. Apparently, this proposal seems attractive, as men too won't oppose it. But, it will face so many difficulties while being implemented that it will finally be dropped as impractical and a lot of time will go waste," Sushma said in an article in Smarth.
Instead, she suggested one-third of seats in Parliament be declared double-member seats.
"This can solve both the problems as it allows 33 per cent of women to get elected without causing any loss of seat to male members and without adding any more seats to Parliament," she says.
In the article, Sushma says such double-member seats can be chosen every five years. "This proposal can be accepted with ease if discussed sincerely."
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