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Kanshi Ram, Mayawati meet PM on U.P. govt. formation

By K.V. Prasad

Mayawati

NEW DELHI APRIL 28. A day after the BJP's parliamentary board cleared the tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP chief, Kanshi Ram, and vice-president, Mayawati, had a meeting with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, here today.

Apart from Mr. Vajpayee, the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, and the BJP president, K. Jana Krishnamurthi, were present at the meeting, which was in continuation of the discussions the BSP leaders had with the BJP State leaders on the formation of the next Government in Uttar Pradesh.

Reports here suggest that Ms. Mayawati would reach Lucknow tomorrow and meet the Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and stake claim to form the Government. The swearing-in is expected to follow in due course after the Constitutional procedure — the Governor recommending lifting of the President's rule in the State — is gone through.

Mr. Krishnamurthi, told The Hindu that an agreement between the two parties had already been arrived at and the BSP-BJP State leaders would make a formal announcement in due course. He denied reports of any differences with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has 14 MLAs and the support of a few independents in the State Assembly, over the Government formation.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party today opposed the ``unholy alliance'' between the BJP and BSP in U.P. and decided to observe a `Black Day'. In a statement, the party general secretary, Tariq Anwar, appealed to the "secular-minded" BSP MLAs to come out of the party in protest against the decision.

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