Samajwadi Party 'softens stance' after raids

Opposition BJP attacked govt for "misusing the CBI" for 'political vendetta'

The Centre Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) raid at Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) leader M Karunanidhi’s son M K Stalin’s residence in Chennai echoed in New Delhi. An “upset” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the “timing” of the raids coming less than 48 hours after the DMK pulling out of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was “most unfortunate”.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked the government for “misusing the CBI” for “political vendetta”, it also took note of UPA ally Samajwadi Party’s sudden “softening of stance” in the aftermath of the raids. Till yesterday, the SP was adamant that Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma resign over his alleged derogatory comments on SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, too, spoke out against the raids. “I strongly disapprove of the CBI action. It is bound to be misunderstood.” Within hours of the FM’s statement, the PM went on record to say, “We are all upset at these events. The government had no role in this that I am sure of. This should not have (happened).”

The timing of the raid is most unfortunate.”

The DMK obviously lost no time in labelling the raids as smacking of “political vendetta”. However, Karunannidhi chose to be a tad cautious saying, “I don't want to speculate if central ministers have said they were not aware of raids. Political vendetta happens not only in Centre, but state also.”

Since the morning when news of the raids became public, even before Parliament started, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned: “Why just 48 hours after the DMK pulled out of the UPA government? The CBI will now dictate everything on Mulayam and Mayawati,” added Prasad.

The SP with its 22 MPs and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) with its 21 MPs have become imperative for the UPA’s survival. The SP had resorted to muscle flexing in the wake of the DMK pull out with Yadav not satisfied with Verma’s apology; the party demanded nothing less than a resignation of Verma.

The party was supposed to make its stand public on the issue after SP’s Parliamentary board meeting early this morning. However, sources said Yadav was silent throughout the hour-long meeting. What he told reporters after the meet was that he would take a decision at “an appropriate time”.

The SP, which till yesterday was storming the well of the House, had a change of heart today and did not create any hurdle in the passage of the Appropriation Bill as well as the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill. No SP members protested in either House.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav is a seasoned politician and he is not in the habit of taking irresponsible actions,” said Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit. He added that the party had nothing to do with the raids.

While the UPA government cried itself hoarse to distance itself from the CBI raids, political parties across the spectrum looked upon the events with incredulity alluding to the political benefits that accrued to the UPA as it managed to keep its allies on a tight leash.