Breaking the two-day-old bonding within the seven suspended Rajya Sabha MPs,the government on Thursday adopted the classic divide and rule strategy to wean away two of them and extract apologies from them before Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. Veerpal Singh Yadav and Nand Kishore Yadav,two SP MPs,were escorted by SP floor leader Ramgopal Yadav and RJD leader Premchand Gupta to Ansari on Thursday evening,where they shook hands with him and expressed regret for their behaviour in the House. On Friday,the government is expected to move a fresh motion in the Upper House seeking termination of the earlier motion which suspended the MPs for the remainder of the session. UPA sources indicated that the motion would name only the two members who had met the Chairman,if others continued to remain defiant. We expressed regret. And why shouldnt we? After all,he is our Chairman and Vice-President, said Nand Kishore Yadav. We told him that if he was hurt by our actions,we regret it. However,our actions were not directed at the Chair but against the government which had brought the Bill which is against minorities and backwards, he said,maintaining that he did not tender any apology. Veerpal Singh Yadav said he had not deviated from his stand that the government should tender an apology to him,not the other way around. I have no issues with the Chairman. My fight is against the government and the anti-Dalit,anti-minority Bill, he said. Barely two hours earlier,Veerpal,along with other suspended members,had protested outside Parliament with black cloth tied around their mouths.
