Even as he thanked the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati for supporting the UPA Government on the cut motion, the All India Congress Committee General Secretary, Digvijay Singh declared that the party would continue to oppose the Bahujan Samaj Party Government, if it works against the interest of the common man. Nor would Ms. Mayawati’s support have any impact on the ongoing Congress yatras in the State, he stated.
At the same time, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of U.P. said that the BSP had extended support to the UPA Government by giving it in writing to the President post-2009 Lok Sabha polls. “The BSP’s support is continuing”, Mr. Singh said at the UP Congress headquarters here on Thursday.
In a bid to deny any possibility of the Congress softening its stand against Ms. Mayawati, Mr. Singh said corruption was rampant in the State and it should be reined in by the Chief Minister. “If the UP Government works in the interest of the people, the Congress, as a responsible opposition party, would support the move, but the party will oppose the corruption prevalent in the implementation of central schemes, the Congress General Secretary told reporters here.
While welcoming the BSP’s move to weed out the criminal elements from the party, the former MP Chief Minister reminded Ms. Mayawati of her statement hailing the alleged mafia don, Mokhtar Ansari, as a messiah of the poor. Strict action should be taken against such elements by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, he added.
“ Law and order also needed to be improved”, Mr. Singh stated.
Stating that there have been several complaints of irregularities in the purchase of wheat by procurement agencies with the growers being forced to sell at a price lower than the procurement price, Mr. Singh demanded that the irregularities should be curbed by the State Government.
On his alleged criticism of Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram’s policies on the Naxalites in a newspaper article, Mr. Singh said the criticism was by some people who had not read the write up. He said his article revolved around three main points. Stating that Mr. Chidambaram is an “old friend of mine and continues to be a friend”, the AICC general secretary expressed “regrets” for the “embarrassment caused to the Government in Parliament”.
Mr. Singh claimed that the ongoing Congress yatras in the State were getting good response from the people.
