Quota bill: Maya claims credit for RS nod, urges parties to support it in LS

Seeking to take credit for the passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill to provide quota in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Rajya Sabha, BSP chief Mayawati Monday appealed political parties to pass the bill in Lok Sabha as well.

"If we had not fought hard for it, then perhaps we could not have achieved what we got today. We are feeling good today and our supporters also must be feeling so," the BSP president said.

"I want to request all parties including the Congress and its allies, the BJP and all NDA partners to get this bill cleared in Lok Sabha also."

Soon after the bill was passed by the upper house, Mayawati walked up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and thanked him. "I want to thank both the government and the opposition on behalf of my party," she added.

Getting the Lok Sabha to clear the promotions quota bill, however, may prove harder: while the government managed to side-step protests by nine Samajwadi Party members in the Rajya Sabha, getting the better of the party's 22 MPs in the lower house may not be as easy.

In fact, the SP MPs disrupted proceedings in the Lok Sabha to protest the move Monday.

The SP also, in an apparent attempt to muddy the waters, demanded a proportional representation for Muslims in government jobs.

If the government can amend the Constitution to meet the demands of SCs and STs, the SP reasoned, it should amend the Constitution to pave the way for reservation for Muslims.

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