New Delhi: On a day it was to face a big majority test in the form of a cut motion against rising fuel and urea prices, the UPA government pulled off a big coup by splitting the Opposition. And then it turned into a morale boosting show of strength.
Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav declared that they wouldn't vote with the BJP, and walked out with their MPs - taking the halfway mark down to 254. The Speaker allowed the cut motions to be moved one by one, and they were all defeated. There was a technical problem with the counting machines in between, and there was a re-division of votes. MPs had to cast their mandate on paper.
This, after the government got an unlikely saviour in the form of Mayawati who announced that her party BSP will not just abstain but actually support the government. Mayawati attacked the government for its economic policies, and for thinking "only of the rich" but said she cannot allow "communal forces" to take over at the Centre. (
Read: What's cut motion?)
The 21 MPs of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) voted with the Government during the Opposition's cut motion on fuel price hike. Here's why that gave the government relief.
The half-way mark in the Lok Sabha is 272. The UPA has 274 MPs. With the BSP on its side, the government got 295 votes in its favour.
Mayawati said the reason for her support is not, as widely suggested, quid pro quo for the CBI's recent indication to drop a major case of corruption against her in the Supreme Court. Last week, the CBI, which investigates cases on the orders of the central government, said it's willing to consider Mayawati's request to close a case that accuses her of disproportionate assets.
However, political analysts have said that the government is clearly on a please-Mayawati drive. The government has given Mayawati the thumbs-up in another crucial case against her in the Supreme Court - it has said her giant park in Noida, built as a memorial to Dalit leaders including herself, has not violated environmental guidelines by allowing construction in what's essentially reserved as a green area. (
Read: Cut motion: Has Congress cut a deal with Mayawati?)
Recently, the Prime Minister also met with a BSP delegation that wanted the government to move faster on a proposed airport at the Greater Noida.
The BJP took no time in taking a pot shot at the new Congress-BSP camaraderie. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said: "Now CBI means Congress Bureau of India."
The Opposition suggests that it couldn't be more obvious that the government is trying to appease Mayawati into standing by it. "It's not surprising for this government to do this kind of wheeling dealing. But we would appeal to all parties to take a political stand on the cut motion and the demand for the fuel hike rollback," said CPM leader Sitaram Yechury.
Speaking to NDTV, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan stressed reports of a tacit deal with Mayawati were incorrect. "This government does not indulge in such backroom maneuvers," she stated.