UPA allies SP and BSP go to war over quota bill

The UPA government on Wednesday played its quota card to overshadow the BJP’s unyielding stance on the allocation of coal blocks (a.k.a. Coalgate), but in the process it set two of its own allies against each other.

The government succeeded in introducing a constitution amendment bill to ensure quotas for SC/STs in promotions in the Rajya Sabha, but the two parties that are supporting the UPA from the outside—Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s BSP—were at each other’s throats. The UPA needs the support of both the SP and the BSP to survive the next 18 months to May 2014, when the next general elections are due.

As the bill was introduced in the din, unprecedented scenes of fisticuffs between Samajwadi MP Naresh Agarwal and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Avtar Singh were witnessed. Proceedings in the Upper House have generally been more sober in the past.

The political fallout of the Congress’ move to introduce the bill found its reflection almost immediately. An angry Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav came out and declared that “his party  will go to the public on this issue and the Congress will have to pay a heavy price for it”. He termed the bill as “unconstitutional”. Slogan-shouting Samajwadi Party members had trooped to the well of the House, to prevent the introduction and passage of the Bill.

With its vociferous opposition, the party hopes to find support not just from its two traditional social constituents, OBCs and Muslims, but also from the Upper Castes.

Ironically, the UPA government’s move did not entirely please the Bahujan Samaj Party, the main protagonist of this quota bill. It was at BSP chief Mayawati’s behest that the government came up with the present bill in double-quick time. The bill essentially seeks to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling barring reservation in promotions. While Mayawati claimed sole credit for the bill, she blasted the Congress for delaying the bill during the budget session and bringing it only after Coalgate exploded in monsoon session.

“Despite our repeated pleas, the Congress did not bring the bill in the previous budget session because they wanted to have their President and Vice-President elected. Then, they could not afford the displeasure of any other political party. The ruling UPA’s self-interest overrode other considerations,” Mayawati said.

She also vented her ire against the BJP. More so, because the main opposition party refused to budge from its stand on blocking parliament over Coalgate even after she made a rare gesture of meeting the two leaders of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley in their offices. She requested them to temporarily keep their demand for the resignation of the PM and the cancellation of coal blocks in abeyance till the quota bill was passed.

“The BJP’s behaviour is condemnable. It did not heed to my request because it is dreaming of forming a government after the next parliamentary elections,” she said.

Mayawati’s barbs were swiftly countered by the BJP. The party’s deputy leader in the Upper House and chief spokesperson, Ravi Shankar Prasad, sarcastically said that “Our appeal to Mayawati is that she should at least once stand with us in the fight against corruption. She has remained silent on corruption in Commonwealth games, in 2G and now also she is silent on UPA’s corruption in the coal scam. We will not allow the government’s plan to sidetrack the fight against corruption.”

He also took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on an article published in the Washington Post headlined “India’s Silent Prime Minister becomes Tragic Figure”.

The quota bill was moved in the Rajya Sabha for two strategic reasons. Bills passed in the Rajya Sabha do not lapse since the Upper House is a permanent body unlike the Lok Sabha. Moreover, the Samajwadi Party, which is openly opposed to it, has much just nine members in the Rajya Sabha as compared to 22 in the Lok Sabha. The government will now try to introduce the bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Given the scuffle between the SP and BSP in the Upper House today, the Lok Sabha is all set to see a greater amount of ruckus when the bill comes there. The main opposition party seems to be happy playing its card. After all, it is very rare to see both Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party come knocking at its door for support. Following Mayawati’s meeting with Sushma Swaraj and Jaitley, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav spoke to Jaitley to stall  quota bill.

The constitutional amendment bill seeks to replace Article 16(4A), which enables the state to provide promotion quotas for SC/STs, with a new formulation that would render irrelevant the need to prove backwardness and inadequate share in services. It seeks to delete two words “inadequate representation” from the said article in the Constitution.

The revised article, cleared by the Cabinet, reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in the Constitution, the SCs and STs notified under Articles 341 and 342 shall be deemed to be backward and nothing in this article, or in article 335, shall prevent the state from making any provision for reservation in matters of promotions, with consequential seniority, to any class or classes of posts in the services under the state in favour of SC/STs to the extent of the percentage of reservation provided to SC/STs in the services of the state.”

The amended 16 (4A) would come into force from 17 June 1995, to ensure that promotions effected in the past remained unaffected by the SC order in the Nagaraj case of November 2006 as well as another ruling in April this year. The ruling set out the need for states to justify promotion quotas by evidence - that SC/STs were inadequately represented and that the beneficiaries were backward.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal had justified plans for a quick vote without discussion, saying the house needs to consider just a four-line amendment and that the bill need not go to a standing committee.

A constitution amendment bill cannot be passed amidst pandemonium in the house. The provisions under the constitution require that such a bill should have the support of members who are not less than half the strength of a house and two-thirds of those present and voting. For voting to be done, the house needs to be in order – all members on their seats and with a sincere intent to participate in voting.

On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha chairman tried to get the bill passed, but amidst the general din, it could not be taken up for voting.