The Hindu : Opposition MLAs not to be paraded before U.P. Governor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 09, 2003

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Opposition MLAs not to be paraded before U.P. Governor

The Samajwadi Party general secretary, Amar Singh, the Rashtriya Kranti Party president, Kalyan Singh, the Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the Rashtriya Lok Dal president, Ajit Singh, at Mr. Kalyan Singh's residence in Lucknow on Sunday. — Photo: Subir Roy

LUCKNOW JUNE 8. The four major Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh today went into a retreat mode deciding not to parade the MLAs supporting them before the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri.

After an hour-long meeting of the Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Rashtriya Lok Dal president, Ajit Singh, the Rashtriya Kranti Dal leader, Kalyan Singh, and the U.P. Congress Committee president, Jagadambika Pal, the leaders stuck to their stand that the Mayawati Government had been reduced to a minority and the Chief Minister should seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the Assembly.

The four major Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh today went into a retreat mode deciding not to parade the MLAs supporting them before the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri.

With Ms. Mayawati continuing to be on a foreign tour and most of the RLD MLAs holed up in Srinagar, the Opposition leaders, in a change of tack, attacked the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, Kesri Nath Tripathi, and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, for propping up the BSP-BJP Government.

Addressing a joint press conference, the leaders said the Mayawati-led Government was continuing with the ``blessings of the Governor, support of the Assembly Speaker and on the directions of the Prime Minister''.

``When those holding constitutional posts were hell bent on stymieing democracy, we have no option but to go to the people,'' they said.

Mr. Kalyan Singh accused the Governor and the Speaker of ``violating'' democratic norms by allowing a ``minority'' Government to function in U.P. Maintaining that the Mayawati-led Government had been reduced to a minority, he said the onus of proving its majority on the floor of the Assembly was on Ms. Mayawati.

Mulayam Singh Yadav said that in the last Vidhan Parishad elections, which was boycotted by the Congress, the ruling coalition candidate for chief ministership won the election by just 11 votes. With 14 RLD MLAs quitting the Government, the ruling coalition had been reduced to a minority, he said, adding that with the Congress joining the ``Oust Mayawati Campaign'', the Opposition strength has crossed 200.

He said, ``it is no longer a game of arithmetic. People themselves now want to get rid of the corrupt Government ... Development has taken a backseat while the Chief Minister wants to be in power by intimidating legislators.''

PTI

Mayawathi must go: Opposition

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