From correspondents in Delhi, India, 10:30 PM IST

The ruling Congress party Monday said it would support with all its 'strength' the Women's Reservation Bill to provide 33 percent seats for women in parliament and legislative assemblies.

At a meeting, the party's women ministers and senior MPs, including those who are members of the Parliament Standing Committee on the bill, discussed the Congress strategy to push the legislation. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi also attended the meeting held at the party headquarters here.

'We discussed the details about the bill and how the party should ensure its passage. We have decided to support it with all our might,' Ravi told IANS.

The Congress recently nominated Tejaswini Gowda, a Lok Sabha member from Karnataka, to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which is expected to evolve a consensus on the women's quota legislation.

The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha during the last budget session amid vehement protests from Samajwadi Party MPs.

While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party publicly supports the bill, some constituents of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - like the Rashtriya Janata Dal - have demanded more discussions and a quota within the bill quota for the other backward classes.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)