By Sanjiv Acharya
Congress politicians are praising UP Chief Minster Mayawati for her decision to walkout from the Rajya Sabha during the voting on the women’s reservation bill. If she had decided to oppose the bill the way Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Yadav and Sharad Yadav had done then it would have created big problem for the Congress.
Once the Samajwadi and RJD MPs who were using all manners of protest to stall the process of the passing of the bill, succeed in getting the house adjourned, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi got into action. She spoke to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the decision was taken to suspend the members who misbehaved with the vice president and the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Hamid Ansari. Now the big worry for the Congress managers was that if the BSP members were to start doing the same thing then it would be very difficult to suspend them as well. That would have sent the wrong political message in UP and in the entire country as far as Dalits are concerned.
The prime minister asked his junior in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan to talk to BSP MP Satish Mishra during the time when house was adjourned. Sources disclosed that a Congress Rajya Sabha MP who shares a good rapport with Satish Mishra spoke to him in detail. The Congress wanted that if the BSP wanted to oppose the bill, they should oppose it, but instead of creating a hungama in the house and voting against it, it would be better they staged a walkout.
Satish Mishra agreed and telephoned BSP supremo Mayawati. To make Behenji agree to the Congress proposal Mishra told the that “Aap ko pata hai, Sonia Gandhi ne Lok Sabha me Mulayam Singh Yadav ko literally jamkar daanta. Unhone Mulayam ki bolti band kar di. Vaise hum to virodh hi karenge lekin Mulayam ya Lalu ke saath khade hona politically theek nahin hai. Behtar hoga walkout kar jayen.” Mayawati asked from the other end, “Kya kahkar walkout karenge? Hamko women reservation ka virodh nahin karma hai, lekin saath bhi nahi dikhna hai.” Her MP replied, “Hum kahenge hamari party chahti hai 50% reservation hona chahiye. Isliye hum boycott kar rahe hain.” Mayawati agreed. Result, the BSP saved the Congress.
On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee, who is an ally in the UPA, didn’t oblige the Congress. She was upset with Sonia Gandhi because Sonia Gandhi didn’t speak to her before voting on the bill. Reportedly, she is still angry with Sonia.