Several political parties on Sunday made a strong pitch for the passage of the women’s reservation bill during the five-day Parliament session beginning Monday, with the government asserting an “appropriate decision will be taken at an appropriate time”.

At an all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the session, several leaders said the long-pending bill should be tabled and hoped it can be passed with consensus. The bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said an “appropriate decision will be taken at appropriate time” on the parties’ demand for the bill.