After a day of confrontation, Thursday saw compromises that not only affirmed the honour of the august post of Rajya Sabha Chairman but also paved the way for the smooth functioning of the House, setting in motion the passage of the bill for creating a quota in promotion in government jobs for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
It all started with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati making amends for her outburst against Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday. Then, the House expressed faith in him; thereafter, after a brief drama, Samajwadi Party members walked out in the post-lunch session, clearing the decks for the passage of The Constitution (117 Amendment) Bill, 2012. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh played a stellar role, meeting Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav to persuade him to give up his party’s opposition to the bill.
Dr. Singh remained in the House and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath kept him posted with the outcomes of his exercise — flitting from one leader to another — to end the deadlock.
After Ms. Mayawati reaffirmed her respect for Mr. Ansari and the Chair, the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, among other leaders, assuaged Mr. Ansari’s feelings, expressing full faith in, and regard, for him, and extending their cooperation in conducting the House.
Both question hour and zero hour passed normally, but matters came to the fore post-lunch, when the bill was taken up for discussion, with the SP members trying to stall it.
