The BJP went into a damage control mode on Tuesday after the treasury benches faced an embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha when a bill conferring constitutional status on the backward classes commission saw the Opposition get an amendment through, largely due to the absence of the ruling party MPs on Monday.
Senior party leaders Bhupendra Yadav, Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav and Ganesh Singh accused the Congress of acting against the interests of the OBC community by getting their amendment passed — an amendment Bhupendra Yadav said was legally untenable. Party president Amit Shah, meanwhile, has asked for written explanations from all 13 BJP MLAs who were absent when voting for the Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill was on in the Upper House.
“You cannot keep a semi-judicial body exclusively reserved. This will not stand in court,” said Mr. Bhupendra Yadav, accusing the Congress of being anti-OBC in the amendment that it moved. “The OBCs are a category that is religion-neutral and is a term that characterises a deprived section of the society. The Congress has to ask itself what it is attempting to do by bringing in minority rights versus the rights of deprived classes, in which the rights of the minority OBCs are also protected,” he said.
Lok Sabha MP Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, quoting late socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, said the Congress had historically been against the OBCs as it was the “heartland states,” where this classes were present in large numbers, that was the vanguard of anti-Congressism.
Explanations sought
Internally, the BJP also sought explanations from absentee MPs. Prime Minister Modi, who was on a day-long tour of flood-hit Assam, has also asked to meet the MPs who were missing.
In all, 31 NDA MPs were absent, including five Union Ministers.
“When the party issues a whip, members must be present in the House. The party president has taken a serious view of the absence of the members. He said it should not have happened and must not be repeated,” Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar said after the parliamentary party meet.
