Mayawati helps government, her party to skip bandh

New Delhi: Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said it will not participate in the nation-wide strike called by opposition parties on Thursday to protest the government's reform measures announced last week.

This will come as a huge relief to a beleaguered UPA, which is now in a minority in Parliament after the Trinamool Congress announced it was exiting the Congress-led ruling coalition. The ruling party is now looking at the BSP, which supports the UPA from outside, as its best bet to make up the numbers it needs to survive. The BSP has 21 MPs, two more than the Trinamool Congress.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP), which has 22 MPs and was for long considered the Congress' Plan B if Mamata Banerjee ditched the UPA, has been playing hard to get. The SP has said it will participate in tomorrow's bandh.

The BSP's Uttar Pradesh chief Ramachal Rajbhar's announced that the party would have nothing to do with Thursday's strike at a meeting of party workers today. Sources in Mayawati's party have said that she will decide on her relationship with the UPA at a meeting of her party on October 9 - the party supports the UPA from outside. Though the BSP too has opposed the hike in diesel prices and the new norms on foreign direct investment in retail effected last week, Ms Mayawati is seen to be the softest on the government right now. Unlike Ms Banerjee or Mr Yadav, who are riding recent electoral successes and would not mind mid-term elections to extend their gains, Ms Mayawati was the big loser in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections this year and she will not want early polls since she is unlikely to make too many gains.

Rajya Sabha scuffle over quota bill: Who said what

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha today witnessed high drama as a scuffle broke out between Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members when the government introduced a bill to provide for reservations in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.

Members of SP were on their feet when the government was asked to move the bill. SP leader Naresh Agrawal moved towards the Well. He was encountered by BSP member Avatar Singh Karimpuri, who grabbed him by his collar to prevent Mr Agarwal from trooping into the Well.

Here are the reactions of various leaders after the incident:

Mayawati, Bahujan Samaj Party chief
The Congress delayed the Bill and did not introduce it in the last session as they wanted their candidate to win the Presidential elections. Now the BJP is not cooperating as they feel that by cornering the UPA government they can win the elections in 2014. I had appealed to the BJP to give importance to quota promotion bill instead of Coal-gate today. But they are being stubborn.

Naresh Agarwal, Samajwadi Party MP
In my 32 years as a legislator, I have not seen such a thing. The BSP MP was being offensive and I was not allowed to speak. This is similar to what happened in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when there was a BSP govt.

Mulayam Singh, Samajwadi Party chief
This is unconstitutional. The bill was introduced and no one came to know about it. We will go to the people against this. The Congress Party will have to face the consequences then. This is a promotion to make junior a senior and vice versa. They (government) are making a mockery of rules. Are they running the government or making a joke? Is it constitutional to make junior a senior and a senior a junior?

Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson
I urge Ms Mayawati to stand with us on the issue of corruption. There are so many cases of corruption. Please stand with us on the issue of corruption. Social justice is an ongoing battle that has been going on and must go on.

Sharad Yadav, NDA convenor
Our party fully supports the bill for providing reservation for promotion in jobs to the SC/ST. But there are certain issues on which we have different stands from our ally BJP but there is no division in the NDA. NDA is one and will remain intact.

(With inputs from PTI)