Now or never,says Sonia; and party falls in line

Following this,on Tuesday morning,the PM sought the support of SP leader Mulayam Singh and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav,even as they issued veiled threats of moving a no-confidence motion.

Sources said the Congress leadership discussed different options available before it. One of the options,apparently,was to take recourse to the same strategy as the last time drop further action citing the strident resistance. The second was to strike a deal with the SP and RJD in ensuring a debate in the House while putting off a vote. The third,which was finally exercised,was to suspend the errant members to ensure passage of the Bill.

Although Sonia did not spell it out,party leaders said the Congresss political objectives in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar obviously buttressed the decision to go for a confrontation with the SP and RJD.

With a clear political directive behind them,the UPAs show in the Upper House today was quite in contrast to the poor floor management it displayed on Monday. Cautious government managers held their cards close to their chest,so much so that even alliance partners like the Trinamool Congress were kept in the dark.

Until Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan got up to move the motion suspending the seven MPs,nobody had a clue about it. We could not share the strategy with the Trinamool because they had only in the morning shared their aversion to steps like expulsion of members, a senior leader said.

Sources said RJD MP Rajniti Prasads name was dropped from the list of suspended MPs after a Rajya Sabha Secretariat report cleared him.

While a date on bringing the Bill in the Lok Sabha has not been decided yet,a senior functionary said: We will probably bring it once the finance bill is passed.

MINUTES OF THE DAY

11 am: Rajya Sabha meets. Observes one-minute silence for Chile earthquake victims.

11.03 am: Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourns House till 12 Noon after SP and RJD MPs create ruckus. It seems the members do not want Question Hour to run day after day. It is a very unfortunate thing, says Ansari.

12 Noon: House reassembles. SPs Kamal Akhtar and RJDs Rajneeti Prasad shout slogans like tanashahi nahin chalegi. Ansari suspends 7 MPs for the remainder of this Session for unruly behaviour,adjourns House till 2 pm.

12.04 pm-2 pm: Suspended MPs keep themselves parked on the floor of the Well.

2 pm: House reassembles. P J Kurien,officiating as the Chair,adjourns House till 3 pm.

2 pm-3 pm: Suspended MPs squat on the floor of the Well. LJPs Sabir Ali even catches a short nap.

3 pm: Suspended MPs indulge in sloganeering. Marshals mobilised.

3.10 pm: BJP protests over the disruption. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal hands over a note to Ansari.

3.13 pm: RJDs Subhash Yadav tries to force his way through the security cordon around the Chair. Other suspended MPs attempt a repeat of Mondays ruckus.

3.14 pm: 50-odd Marshals enter and rein in the suspended MPs.

3.15 pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh walks in and takes his seat.

3.17 pm: Suspended MPs again squat on the floor of the Well.

3.18 pm: Marshals begin physically evicting the suspended MPs.

3.20 pm: Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley walks up to Ansari and then the PM.

3.24 pm: SPs Kamal Akhtar smashes a glass after having water.

3.25 pm: Marshals evict Akhtar.

3.32 pm: Marshals move out of the House.

3.34 pm: Jaitley begins his speech.

3.36 pm: Several MPs demand that the evicted MPs be called back.

3.55 pm: SPs Ram Gopal Yadav and RJDs Rajneeti Prasad walk out of the House.

4 pm-6.30 pm: 27 MPs participate in the discussion on the Bill.

6.35 pm: Bill put to vote.

6.40 pm: Electronic screen displays the result: The Ayes Have It.