Mayawati's BSP To Abstain From Voting On The NCT Amendment Bill In Parliament

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to abstain from participating in the discussions and voting on the National Capital Territory (NCT) Amendment Bill during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

This decision is significant amidst the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) attempts to gather enough support in the Rajya Sabha for passing the Bill.

According to reports, the BSP will not be involved in the process of the Bill in both houses of Parliament. They will also abstain from voting if it takes place.

Notably, the BSP has nine members in the Lok Sabha, but only one MP in the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, in a surprising move, the Telangana-based Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which was not a part of the Opposition's unity platform, had joined other Opposition MPs in walking out from a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha.

This was done in protest against the inclusion of a Bill to replace the controversial Delhi ordinance in the official business of the House.

The Opposition coalition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) and the BJP-led NDA are already divided into two camps.

However, the stance of two other supposedly neutral parties, the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and the BJD in Odisha, has not yet been clarified. The Bill might face obstacles if these two parties also vote against it or choose to abstain.

Notably, some of the opposition parties are cautious about not antagonizing the BJP, so they might choose to abstain from voting on the Bill.

This move comes amidst the efforts by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to block the Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session. The Bill aims to replace the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The AAP has criticized the ordinance, stating that it undermines the principle of federalism by disregarding the authority of an elected government and granting control of civil servants to the Lieutenant Governor.

In the Lok Sabha, the BJP holds a clear majority with 303 MPs and should have no difficulty passing the NCT Bill.

However, in the Rajya Sabha, where there are currently 238 MPs, the BJP may face challenges if non-BJP parties unite.

The BJP and its allies have a total of 111 MPs, including nominated members, while the Opposition falls just slightly behind with 106 members (excluding the BJD, YSRCP, BSP, TDP, and JD(S)).