Mayawati threatens taking ‘tough stand’ over quota bill

Mayawati threatens taking ‘tough stand’ over quota bill

Parliament stares at a new stalemate as Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav spar over reservations in promotions

After extending unequivocal support to the UPA II in the Rajya Sabha over the debate on FDI in multi brand retail, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s patience with the ruling coalition is wearing thin. Mayawati on Monday warned the UPA of taking a `tough stand’ if the Constitution Amendment Bill for reservation in promotion in government jobs for SC/ST is not passed by the Upper House in the ongoing Winter Session.

“The BJP and their supporters in Rajya Sabha, being anti-Dalit, are against the passage of the bill, but it’s the responsibility of the treasury benches and the chairman of the Rajya Sabha to restore order in the House and conduct proceedings. We will wait for 2-3 days and then we will review the situation and will take a tough stand on the issue,” said Mayawati. She, however, did not elaborate on what the ‘tough stand’ would include.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the bill will be taken up in the current session of the Rajya Sabha. “It’s not a new bill, it was introduced in the last session of the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Monday following the din created by the Samajwadi Party (SP) against the passage of the bill. The SP members shouting slogans against the "quota bill" trooped into the well of the House. The BJP members, on the other hand, demanded probe into the alleged pay offs by Walmart for lobbying with politicians in USA and India for permitting it to set up shop in India.

Both the SP and BJP MPs put the parliamentary skills of the floor managers of the UPA to severe test, which is desperate to get parliamentary approval for major new reforms such as the FDI and pension fund. “The BJP and SP are hand in glove to stall this bill,” charged Mayawati.

The quota bill has turned into a tug-of-war between the two arch rivals in Uttar Pradesh, without whom the minority government at the Centre could collapse. Both the SP and BSP had bailed out the UPA in both houses of Parliament over FDI in multi-brand retail debate.

While Mayawati is demanding reservation in promotions, her political rival, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is strongly opposed to the bill. The SP, ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, is busy crafting a new social coalition with the upper castes, which forms a major chunk of its voters, ahead of the crucial 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

“How can we support this bill which for the sake 20 percent Dalits deprives an overwhelming majority of 80 percent comprising of the upper caste, OBCs and minorities of their fundamental rights? This bill besides having anti-constitutional provisions, is highly divisive in nature,” said SP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal.

Passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill or the quota bill is crucial for Mayawati’s survival in UP and other parts of the country. The bill concerns the interest of the core constituency of the BSP — the Dalits. The promotion of SC/ST officers during her tenure as chief minister of UP (May 2007-March 2012) was challenged in Allahabad high court, which had quashed the promotion in January 2011. The UP government had challenged the HC order in Supreme Court. The apex court, in April 2012, had upheld the Allahabad HC’s order.