Mayawati resigns from RS after walking out in anger

BSP supremo’s current term ends in April next year

Hours after walking out of Rajya Sabha in anger, BSP supremo Mayawati handed over her threepage resignation to the chairman of the Upper House, Hamid Ansari. He is yet to decide on her resignation.

“I simply wanted the Rajya Sabha Chair to pay attention to atrocities against the less fortunate sections of the society, especially dalits. And as a representative, when I’m not being allowed to speak for them, I have no choice but to resign,” Ms Mayawati said, referring to the deputy chairman, P.J. Kurien, asking her to cut short her speech about the rise in dalit atrocities under the BJP rule.

Ms Mayawati’s current term ends next year in April. But with just 19 MLAs in Uttar Pradesh, chances of her being renominated to the Upper House are bleak. The BSP party has no member in the Lok Sabha.

An agency report, quoting Lalu Prasad Yadav, said the RJD chief has extended support to Ms Mayawati. “We support Mayawati Ji and if she wants we will again send her to Rajya Sabha,” he told the agency.

In her resignation, Ms Mayawati repeated most of what she had said in the Upper House earlier, including the Saharanpur incidents in May.

Mr Kurien had asked her to cut short her speech as she had been given only three minutes to speak, but had already spoken for about seven.

“I have no moral right to be in the House if I am not allowed to put across my views on atrocities being committed against dalits… I am going to resign from the House,” she said.

Though some Congress members tried to pacify her, and even Mr Kurien rose from his seat in an attempt to calm her down, but Ms Mayawati refused to be pacified, repeating that she had no right to be in the House if she cannot protect the rights of her community and walked out of the House with her party members.

Earlier, the BSP’s notice for adjournment of the proceedings of the House was rejected by the Chair but she was allowed to speak for three minutes.

Addressing the media after handing over her

Continued from Page 1 resignation letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman, Ms Mayawati said, “I was speaking about the atrocities against dalits, since I belong to that community. But Treasury benches did not allow me to speak about that. How can I continue in such an environment?”

Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Ms Mayawati was challenging the Chair. “She should apologise. She has threatened the Chair,” he said.

“Neither did she talk about her community or dalits. She only made a pure political speech… The way UP rejected her party, that rejection is showing… one should not challenge the Chair. She should apologise... whatever she said challenging the Chair should be expunged,” Mr Naqvi said as other Opposition parties members, including leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, stood up in support of Ms Mayawati.

Soon after staging a walkout, BSP members were back in the House and seen shouting slogans with their archrivals, SP members, in the Well of the House. Mr Azad, who too was given time to speak briefly, said the government had, at an all-party meeting before the start of the Monsoon Session, agreed to discuss any issue that the Opposition wants to raise in the House. “Promise was made to us in the presence of the Prime Minister. You are going against that,” Mr Azad said looking at the Treasury benches. While responding to Treasury benches’ barbs that people’s mandate needs to be respected, Mr Azad said the government has got a mandate to protect the dalits and minorities and for development. “You didn’t get a mandate to massacre minorities and dalits,” he said before the Congress members walked out of the House. Mr Naqvi said the government was ready for discussion on any issue but the Opposition should give a notice. Opposition parties had given notices to discuss crisis facing farmers, antidalit violence and lynching of minorities.