The Rajya Sabha accepted Mayawati’s resignation on 20 July, two days after the Bahujan Samaj Party chief announced her resignation from the Upper House. Mayawati said she had decided to quit from the Rajya Sabha after she was asked to wrap up her impromptu speech on Saharanpur anti-Dalit violence.
The ruling government had called Mayawati resignation a "political stunt" and a "planned script", while Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad defended her, saying it was a "bold decision".
Lalu further added that should Mayawati wish it, they would send her to the Rajya Sabha from 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, If Mayawati wishes, we will send her to Rajya Sabha from Bihar. We are with her.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said:
It was a political stunt. Everybody knows it was a planned script and will result in political loss to her. The government was prepared for discussion and it had to take place.
As the BSP supremo makes her exit, here is a quick look at her parliamentary report card:
Mayawati’s Parliamentary Track Record
Here is Mayawati’s letter of resignation:
Mayawati wrote a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari resigning from the Upper House.
The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is practising caste and religion-based politics for political gains from the day it came to power (in May 2014). Such environment is in the extreme in BJP-ruled states.Mayawati’s Resignation Letter
The letter was released to the media after she met Ansari and handed it over. The BSP leader also stated:
Downheartedly, I am taking the decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha. I have dedicated my life for the upliftment of the poor, Dalits, tribes, backwards, Muslims, and other minorities groups.
Mayawati said BJP ministers created a nuisance by raising their voice and shouting slogans in the house in order to disturb her while she was speaking on the important issue of atrocities against Dalits.
She also apprised the Rajya Sabha Chairman that she had resigned as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in 2003 after serving for 15 months, as she could not accept interference of the BJP ideology in the then coalition government.
The party matriarch claimed that she was “not being heard and was not allowed to speak”, and therefore did not feel the need to continue as a member of the Upper House.
Laanat hai, agar mai apne weaker sections ki baat sadan mein nahi rakh sakti to mujhe house mein rehne ka adhikaar nahi hai. (This is a shame. If I cannot put forward issues of the weaker sections in the House, then I have no right to be here.)
(With inputs from PTI.)
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