But late on Sunday, the party received a shot in the arm when DMK and Lok Janshakti Party said they would support it on imposition of President’s rule in UP.
NEW DELHI: With the CPI(M) refusing to play ball, it seemed on Sunday as though the Congress plan to dislodge the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh would fall flat. But late on Sunday, the party received a shot in the arm when two of its allies in the United Progressive Alliance, M Karunanidhi’s DMK and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, said they would support it on imposition of President’s rule in the state.
With the Marxists firm in their opposition to President’s rule, the Congress brass had earlier tried to bargain for the chief minister’s resignation in return for keeping his government intact and saving the Left some embarrassment. The UPA brass requested CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat to draw a resignation out of Yadav, but the aggressive Samajwadi Party chief refused to oblige.
Now, with the changed equation, the Congress Working Committee is scheduled to meet today and discuss what step to take.
On Sunday, Karat defended his friend Mulayam Singh and warned the UPA against any misadventure in Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi Party too put on its battle gear and threatened to approach President Kalam to demand Governor TV Rajeshwar’s recall. “We will meet the President and demand the recall of the governor, who is working with malafide political intentions,” SP general secretary Ramgopal Yadav said.
According to analysts, the Congress would stand to lose if it tries to get President’s rule ratified in Parliament with the BJP’s support, if the Left abstains from voting. Any such move might also lead the 38-odd Samajwadi Party members in the Lok Sabha to hold the House to ransom and possibly derail the budget. The move would bolster the electoral prospects of the Samajwadi Party and Yadav would try to project himself as a martyr. Analysts say the BSP and the BJP would gain from this mess, not the Congress.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh too warned the Congress against any “misadventure” in UP and used the occasion to send a subtle message to Kalam, who was initially his party’s choice for President. “Please remember, Kalam is a wise man,” he said. “I know he will not fall prey to the evil designs of these people.”
Karat too held firm, saying that “a cure for bad governance is not Article 356. There may be opposition and rejection against the government, the ground for that objection may be genuine, but Article 356 is not the remedy.”
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