New Delhi: If Mayawati wished to come back to Rajya Sabha, she would not have resigned, said Satish Mishra, a senior leader of her party today, in effect shutting the door on Lalu Yadav's offer to find a seat for the Dalit powerhouse from Bihar.
"If she cannot raise her voice on behalf of Dalits inside the House, there is no purpose of sitting inside the house," Mr Mishra said. On Tuesday, during her speech to highlight what she called frequent attacks on Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, was interrupted multiple times.
"She spoke for 2 minutes. She was interrupted 62 times by the treasury benches, ministers," he said. Mayawati had angrily walked out of Rajya Sabha, saying she would resign.
Her move has found support from Lalu Yadav, who commands huge support among the Dalits and backward castes in Bihar. "Today would be remembered as a black day in the history when a highly respected Dalit leader was not allowed to raise the voice of poor in the Rajya Sabha," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.
Mayawati has only 18 legislators in the 403-member house in Uttar Pradesh - a number that would be far from sufficient to ensure her a seat in the Upper House. Her move to walk out of Rajya Sabha on the Dalit issue is seen as a measure to recapture her party's slipping core voter base. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party has been out of power for two terms - the last assembly election held earlier this year had seen the BJP win a resounding victory in the state. The party has won 300 of the state's 403 seats - a feat that could not have been possible without significant support from the Dalits.
"If she cannot raise her voice on behalf of Dalits inside the House, there is no purpose of sitting inside the house," Mr Mishra said. On Tuesday, during her speech to highlight what she called frequent attacks on Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, was interrupted multiple times.
"She spoke for 2 minutes. She was interrupted 62 times by the treasury benches, ministers," he said. Mayawati had angrily walked out of Rajya Sabha, saying she would resign.
Her move has found support from Lalu Yadav, who commands huge support among the Dalits and backward castes in Bihar. "Today would be remembered as a black day in the history when a highly respected Dalit leader was not allowed to raise the voice of poor in the Rajya Sabha," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.
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Mayawati has only 18 legislators in the 403-member house in Uttar Pradesh - a number that would be far from sufficient to ensure her a seat in the Upper House. Her move to walk out of Rajya Sabha on the Dalit issue is seen as a measure to recapture her party's slipping core voter base. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party has been out of power for two terms - the last assembly election held earlier this year had seen the BJP win a resounding victory in the state. The party has won 300 of the state's 403 seats - a feat that could not have been possible without significant support from the Dalits.
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