Amid UP assembly uproar, Mayawati manages to pass 'split' resolution

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The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Monday managed to get the much-debated resolution for division of Uttar Pradesh into four smaller states passed by voice vote in the state assembly, taking full advantage of the uproar created by the opposition. A TV channel reported that the decision came in less than 25 seconds.

Interestingly, assembly Speaker Sukhdeo Rajhbhar also adjourned the house sine die barely an hour after it had sat for the commencement of the assembly's winter session.

Chief Minister Mayawati told a hastily convened press conference shortly thereafter, saying: "I have done my bit and very soon we will send this across to the centre, after which it would be their responsibility to get it passed by the parliament."

Hitting back at the opposition parties who had kicked up a row all through the proceedings of the house, the chief minister said: "The opposition was trying to paint a false picture that my government was in a minority, when fact remains that we are enjoying full confidence of the house, that was clearly borne out by the fact that the house also passed the vote on account."

Stormy scenes were witnessed in the house as soon as it assembled for the day. Terming the government as 'most corrupt', members of the opposition in both houses went on raising slogans against the Mayawati regime.

Within minutes of the commencement of the session at 11 a.m., almost the entire opposition rose up to unanimously raise the demand for ouster of the Mayawati government, which led Speaker Sukhdeo Rajhbhar to adjourn the proceedings for an hour.

As soon as the house re-assembled at 12.20 p.m., the opposition once again resorted to slogan shouting, and taking advantage of it, Mayawati herself tabled the resolution. She quickly read out the brief resolution seeking division of Uttar Pradesh into four states - Purvanchal, Paschim Pradesh, Avadh Pradesh and Bundelkhand - and within the next two minutes, the speaker DECLARED it passed by A voice vote, which again remained inaudible in the din that prevailed.

What followed was another resolution by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma who used the fast-track ROUTE to get two other key resolutions passed by the house. The first was the vote on account for government expenditures for the remaining 17 weeks of fisccal 2011-12. Within moments, came the resolution for adjournment of the house sine die, which was passed with unprecedented rapidity.

Even as the opposition sought to almost unanimously term the division move as a 'political stunt', Mayawati sought to emphasise: "I have been advocating for division of this huge state into four states right from the time my government was formed in 2007, so it is absolutely illogical to call it a gimmick; what we have done is in keeping with the aspirations of the people of the four regions."

Evidently, the manner in which the whole exercise was carried out also completely upstaged the opposition plan to bring a no-confidence motion against the Mayawati government.

Earlier, both the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party had decided to move a no-confidence motion against the BSP government.