Quota bill: Mayawati slams govt for blocking it

BSP supremo Mayawati Thursday slammed the government for not getting the bill providing for quota in promotion to SCs/STs cleared in Lok Sabha, saying since beginning she had doubts over the Centre`s sincerity on the issue.

New Delhi: BSP supremo Mayawati Thursday slammed the government for not getting the bill providing for quota in promotion to SCs/STs cleared in Lok Sabha, saying since beginning she had doubts over the Centre`s sincerity on the issue.

She alleged that the Centre staged a "drama" on the bill in Lok Sabha for the last two days and had it been sincere, "when the copy of the bill was snatched yesterday, they should have suspended the Samajwadi Party MPS, brought the House in order, used marshals but they did not do so."

"The whole country has seen the drama by the government on the issue. We condemn the Centre and Congress for not getting the bill passed for reservation in promotion," Mayawati told reporters outside Parliament House complex.

She said after the passage of the bill in Rajya Sabha, BSP was hoping that it would sail through in Lok Sabha also.
"But the attitude of the government in Lok Sabha yesterday had made the picture clear to me that the bill will not be cleared... Today it was all drama and we got to see the double-face of the government on the bill," the BSP supremo said.

Asked if BSP would ask the government to call a special session to get the bill cleared, she said, "We will write to the Prime Minister for a special session... We will give them one or two more chances. We will raise the issue again in the Budgest Session."
"If they continue this drama, then the elections will come in 2014, the SC/ST community will teach them a lesson," Mayawati said.

She alleged that BJP also does not have "clean intentions" on the issue as it got the bill cleared in Rajya Sabha but was reluctant to support it in Lok Sabha.

PTI

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