Passing the Test

Until Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party promised to back the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance on Friday’s crucial vote on foreign direct investment in retail, a desperate ruling government had been scrounging for every vote in the Rajya Sabha — being low on numbers in the upper House. The government was heavily banking on the presence of the 10 nominated members, prominent among them actress Rekha and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The mischievous opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party camp, would have loved to ensure that Tendulkar did not make to Parliament that day. The ruse proposed, if reports are to be believed, was to use their BCCI contact and heavyweight Arun Jaitley to ensure that a cricket match was slated for that crucial Friday. As luck would have it, the third India-England test match which started on Wednesday was sure to roll on till December 7, the third day of the test, and the day of the Rajya Sabha vote.