EC's suggestion

Sir, - It was path-breaking of the Election Commission to suggest a way out of the women's reservation imbroglio. The method in itself is a gem of a stratagem - parties agreeing to allocate a fixed percentage of seats only to women nominees. The brouhaha that some parties had created in Parliament, wherein they had demanded a quota within the block of women's constituencies and also rotation of the seats, should thus fizzle out promptly because parties themselves could decide the composition of their women-candidate squad. Further, as the Chief Election Commissioner pointed out, such a change would not require the Constitution to be amended; only the Representation of the people Act would need to be modified.

There, however, could be a possible loophole in the method. Parties could install lame-duck women candidates simply to inflate figures and reach the required percentage composition. While national-presence political fronts cannot afford to play such tricks, those fronts that opposed the Women's Reservation Bill tooth and nail in Parliament could well do that. There should be a safeguard against this possible infraction of an otherwise brilliant suggestion by the EC.

Mohammad Shahid,

Surathkal (Karnataka)

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