Mayawati, miffed with Sushma Swaraj for her remarks on the BSP walkout in Lok Sabha, ridicules her and calls it case of sour grapes.
BSP chief Mayawati announced on Thursday that she and her 15 MPs would support the government on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail when it comes to voting in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Her categorical assurance came after a bitter and prolonged verbal duel with BJP members over Sushma Swaraj’s criticism of the BSP’s voting behaviour on the FDI motion on Wednesday.
Arun Jaitley, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, dropped enough hints that this voting behaviour of the BSP and SP in the Lok Sabha — though both parties opposed the FDI policy, their members just walked out — was guided by the CBI.
An incensed Mayawati tore into the BJP’s contention that the BSP was forced to bail the UPA out because of CBI pressure. She said it was the NDA government, which in 2003 had booked her in the Taj corridor and the disproportionate assets cases after she refused to get into an electoral alliance with the BJP ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
“They threatened that they would withdraw their support to my government in Uttar pradesh, if I did not agree to that alliance. But I told them that I can form a government with them, but I cannot go along with them in an election because of ideological differences, and then resigned on my own,” she said amid noisy protests by BJP members that led to a brief adjournment.
In the process, Mayawati displayed her skills as a parliamentary debater. She even took pot shots at Swaraj, describing her as a short-statured fox who goes all out for the grapes, but terms them sour when she fails to grab them. “She was disappointed yesterday [Wednesday] after the motion got defeated in the Lok Sabha. It was a case of sour grapes.”
As Kamal Nath, Union parliamentary affairs minister, intervened to suggest there is nothing unparliamentary about the expression “sour grapes”, the BJP members cried foul and said it was a conspiracy between the BSP and the Congress.
Moments after this, Mayawati declared her support for the government. Justifying her decision, she said a defeat for the government would provide an excuse for delaying a whole lot of other important matters.
“If the government loses out, it would find an excuse to delay many decisions like the bill on quota in promotions; and we do not want such a thing to happen,” she said.
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