Mayawati resigns from Rajya Sabha

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, hours after she had threatened to quit the Upper House+ for “not being allowed to speak” about atrocities against Dalits and minorities. “I was speaking about the atrocities against Dalits, since I belong to that community. But treasury benches did not allow me to speak about that. How can I continue in such an environment?,” Mayawati told mediapersons after handing over her resignation letter to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. “It is not good that I cannot speak in the House on issues close to me... When I got up to speak, the government did not allow me to complete. Since I was not allowed by the ruling party to raise these issues so, I have decided to give resignation from Rajya Sabha,” she added. Backed by Opposition members, Mayawati had been speaking about the recent anti-Dalit violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district in the Rajya Sabha, when Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked her to curtail her speech, which was exceeding the three-minute duration.