SC/ST promotion quota bill: SP-BSP fight saves BJP from a tricky situation

NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party tussle in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday over quota in promotions couldn’t have been better timed for the BJP as it allowed the party to take the back seat in the House on a politically charged issue.

Aware that any decision to oppose passage of a constitutional amendment on the grounds that it will not let the government deflect attention from Coalgate involved a political risk, senior BJP leaders had decided on Tuesday that it would not do to signal to BJP’s upper caste vote alone as the party can ill afford to come across as opposed to dalit and tribal interests.

At the same time, the government would have scored if BJP suspended its blockade of Parliament. The BJP looked to sidestep the trap by settling for a nuanced support of quotas-in-promotion while insisting that this could be possible only if its demands over Coalgate were met.

Most BJP leaders involved in discussions felt the Bill could not be opposed outright irrespective of the party’s claim on the upper caste vote. BJP has often done well in reserved constituencies and could hardly afford to be labeled anti-dalit by rivals.

Keen to ensure that an aggressive BSP chief Mayawati did not upstage it, BJP brass swiftly drafted a statement once Rajya Sabha adjourned after the SP-BSP fracas. The party said cancellation of coal blocks allotted and an independent inquiry can set the stage for a debate on both coal allocations and the quota Bill.

BJP leaders are aware that the Bill has only been deferred till the winter session. Its passage is inevitable despite any reservations political parties may harbour. The challenge was to survive a war of nerves with the government cannily testing BJP’s resolve with a wickedly spinning googly.