Mayawati's resignation from Rajya Sabha accepted

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Thursday accepted the resignation of BSP chief Mayawati after she gave a fresh letter. Mayawati had on Tuesday given a three-page resignation to the Chairman Hamid Ansari, stating that she was resigning as she was not being allowed to speak in the House on important matters. She had sought time to speak under Rule 267 but Kurien, who was presiding over the Rajya Sabha at that time, gave her just three minutes to speak as per Zero Hour rule. This enraged Mayawati, who announced then and there itself that she was quitting. She was asked to furnish a fresh one-line resignation letter as required under the rules after her earlier missive was considered a conditional offer which could not be accepted. Mayawati, whose six-year term was to end in April next year, said it served her no purpose to continue when she was not allowed to speak for the depressed sections of people whom she represents. "If I am not allowed to talk, if I cannot represent the section of the society I belong to, if I am not allowed to put across my views on atrocities on Dalits, then there is no point in staying in the House," she said before giving her resignation on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Kurien and leaders of several parties appealed to her to withdraw the resignation, saying her presence was essential in the House. Kurien explained to BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra that he had no intention of not letting Mayawati speak in the House, but it was so that he had not taken up the 267 notices by that time. "Let me set the record straight. I would have allowed her to speak under (Rule) 267 later. But when I came in to the House, she was already up to speak. So, I allowed her three minutes out of turn. I even bypassed the Leader of Opposition to allow her to speak first," Kurien said. "It was only a procedural matter. We have immense respect for Mayawatiji... I ask her, and I presume it is the sentiment of the entire House, to reconsider her decision (of quitting)," Kurien said. At this, Azad stood up and said that the Opposition requests her to take back her resignation. However, Mayawati stuck to her decision to quit and submitted a fresh one-line resignation letter to the Chairman who accepted it.