The Hiss Of The Angry Serpent

All of last week in Parliament, Mayawati held centrestage. Not physically, but in absentia. This was because she's the protagonist in the latest sting operation to hit the headlines. And this time it's Mulayam Singh Yadav who has done a Tehelka on his bete noir, Mayawati.

The drama unfolded on two fronts. First, in Lucknow, the SP set off a frenetic train of events by presenting UP governor Vishnukant Shastri a videotape in which Mayawati is shown demanding donations from party MPs and MLAs, out of their annual development allocations. The tremors were soon felt in Parliament—where the issue for a while even eclipsed Ayodhya and the finance bill. So much dust was raised that the prime minister had to intervene. Even ex-PM Chandra Shekhar pleaded for sanity, but between the SP and BSP it was open season.

Deputy PM L.K. Advani, to whom Mayawati had shot off an angry letter on the subject, was button-holed by Congress MPs. In between impassioned pleas for order, he insisted that the letter—which apparently uses "offensive" language against Mulayam Singh Yadav—not be made a part of parliamentary records. Instead, he offered to pass on the missive to the Speaker and leave it to his discretion. When this failed to pacify the House, the PM stepped in: "Some things need to be kept in mind. Not everything should be tabled on the floor of the House." Sources say putting the letter in the public domain would've been "embarrassing".

It was mid-week when Mulayam sprung the videotape on the nation. The Mayawati speech—purportedly taped on February 11, 2001, when she was an MP, not the CM—shows her at her candid best. "We had fixed a target of Rs 2 lakh for each assembly segment this year. Collect it the way you will, but for next year I will tell you the method to be adopted. My method will be followed next year since that is in the interest of the party.... It should be deposited at the party office by February 25, the last date.... When you get Rs 5 lakh without going anywhere, don't gobble up the amount yourself. Leave Rs 1 lakh for the party.... So, I have fixed Rs 2 lakh for MPs and Rs 1 lakh for MLAs.... Am I saying anything wrong?"

This 'catch' seemed a godsend for the SP, which had long been frustrated at its attempts to dislodge the BSP-BJP coalition. So, the party tried to milk it to the maximum. In a memo handed to Shastri in Lucknow, party MLAs stated: "Heavy extortion had so far made life of government officials miserable. But now the CM has started demanding a share from the funds allocated for development. How can the state exchequer, with crores of rupees, be safe in her hands?"

Mayawati's retaliation was swift. At a press conference, instead of being on the defensive, she waxed belligerent: "Mulayam will have to pay a heavy price for making false and fabricated allegations against me." She said it was Mulayam who'd accepted crores from the MLAs' fund for a school named after his father. She alleged that SP MPs and MLAs were giving large sums of money from their funds to institutions run by Mulayam's relatives and for his personal needs. Audaciously, she claimed it was this racket she was talking about but clever editing had presented a distorted picture.

She promptly ordered chief secretary D.S. Bagga to conduct a probe into the misuse of discretionary funds during Mulayam's regime. Under the terms of reference, politicians who have splurged on the fund and not submitted the utilisation certificate can be booked for criminal offence.

This forced Mulayam and SP leaders to meet Speaker Kesrinath Tripathi and move a no-confidence motion. That turned out to be another murky chapter in UP's legislative history. That Tripathi didn't attend the special session and proceedings were left in the hands of a presiding officer, Suresh Chandra Srivastava, only goes to show the abysmal depths to which UP politics has sunk.

For six hours, there was mayhem in the assembly. Opposition members brawled openly with security marshals and smashed the mike on the Speaker's table—that being the only desk-top mike after fixed ones were installed following the infamous assembly riot of 1997 when MLAs fought pitched battles inside the House. This time agitated members threw paper missiles, food packets, anything they could lay their hands on. Even Srivastava narrowly escaped a 'missile attack' as he ran for cover.

The SP's Mohammed Azam Khan, who is also leader of the Opposition, tried to pin all blame on the BSP. "The chaos in the House today was the work of BSP MLAs, who were very scared of a vote. Through the day, the ruling combine stonewalled all attempts at debate and vote." That, however, is only part of the picture. Indeed, none of the MLAs appeared interested in the vote as precious time was wasted in heated fights over non-issues. BSP MLAs, irked over a reported remark by Azam Khan on the 'beard' of one of their ministers, did not allow the House to go into question hour, insisting on an apology. And Opposition members kept pressing for a 10-hour debate on their no-confidence motion. What followed, not surprisingly, was more chaos.

When the motion was finally tabled, it was duly referred to the business advisory committee (BAC). A consensus could not be reached even after the nine-member BAC met three times. Opposition members submitted their resignations from the committee when the ruling coalition turned down their plea for an extended debate. Azam Khan was permitted by the presiding officer to present the no-confidence motion and he did so amidst loud protests. An 'eyewash' of a voice vote, helmed by Srivastava, saw Mayawati through.

The ruling coalition also used the reigning confusion to table the motion of thanks on the governor's address. It too was passed by a voice vote without the Opposition getting a chance to speak. CLP leader Pramod Tewari was fuming. "Mayawati claims to have 227 MLAs. Why then is she afraid of a proper vote of confidence? This could be the best way to legitimise her regime." In the melee, the small matter of supplementary financial grants too were passed without a vote. The House was adjourned sine die as a stunned Opposition decided to sit on a dharna.

Mayawati may yet ride out the crisis, but the last has surely not been heard on the sting. The BJP, with a hint of embarrassment, declared the "Mayawati affair" closed. But the BSP supremo is unlikely to beat a quiet retreat. Those who have crossed swords with her in the past know that fully well.