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All parties chase Maya's 21 MPs ahead of cut motion A.M. Jigeesh New Delhi, April 22, 2010 Print Single View Buy article The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), with 21 MPs, is suddenly emerging as an "important" party in Parliament. The cut motion planned by the Opposition against the government is scheduled to be taken up in the Lok Sabha on April 27. Bracing for the cut motion, the Congress issued a three-line whip to its members for next week. It has asked its allies to follow suit. UPA managers have also approached the BSP to seek their help to defeat the cut motion. The Left parties have, however, urged Mayawati's party to join their fight against price rise. The BSP and Mayawati are yet to take a decision on the issue of cut motion. If the BJP and other Opposition parties, including the Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, join hands, it will be tough for the UPA to prove its majority. Without the BSP's help, the government may even fell short of the magic number, 272. The BSP leaders acknowledged being in touch with other parties on the issue. In the cut motion, moved by CPM leader P. Karunakaran, the party has demanded that the government drop the five per cent Customs duty on oil products, imposed in the recent Budget. The BJP has also moved a separate cut motion on the same issue. The Left leaders insist both the cut motions be taken separately. "We will press our cut motion. It's our constitutional right as members of Parliament," CPM leader Basudeb Acharia said. Party general secretary Prakash Karat in Kochi said the Left was not for working to topple the UPA government. "We are not for toppling or destabilising the government," he said, adding that it wanted the Centre to stop implementing "anti-people" measures. The Left parties will be meeting the floor leaders of the SP, the RJD, the Janata Dal (Secular), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the AIADMK on Thursday. This is part of an effort to chalk out a joint strategy to make the called by 13 Opposition parties against price rise on April 27 a success. The BSP has also been invited for the meeting but it was noncommittal on its participation. "We are in touch with CPM leaders. We appreciate their stand on price rise. But on the issue of cut motion, we are yet to take a decision. Our leader Mayawati will decide on it soon," BSP leader in Lok Sabha Dara Singh Chouhan said. CPI leader D. Raja said all the parties were working in tandem to make the strike a success. "The AIADMK, the BJD, the JD(S) and the SP leaders are working hard. We would like to give the Centre a strong message," Raja said. When asked if the Left was trying to topple the UPA government, he said nothing could be ruled out. "The United Front government was short-lived. So was the first (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee government," he said.
