SP gives President letter of support to UPA Govt

New Delhi, Jul 9 (UNI) The Samajwadi Party today handed over its letter of support for the UPA Government to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, shortly after the Left met the latter to formally communicate that they were no more with the ruling Alliance.

''The list of MPs given to the President contains the names of all those who had contested on the party symbol,'' SP General Secretary Amar Singh told reporters after meeting the President along with another party General Secretray Ram Gopal Yadav.

All the names given in the list will follow the party whip in Parliament, Mr Singh said.

He, however, evaded giving the exact number of MPs. He also said he had spoken to the suspended SP MP Beni Prasad Verma this morning and he had assured him of his and of another suspended MP Atiq Ahmad's support to the Congress.

Replying to a question, the SP leader said the letter had been given just to reiterate the party's support to the UPA government given at the time of its formation.

Mr Singh said he just wanted to remove any confusion from public's mind, as his party had once decided to withdraw support to the UPA Government after certain political developments in Uttar Pradesh, but anyhow it had not sent the letter of support withdrawal to the President at that time.

The SP, which has 39 MPs in the Lok Sabha, though some of them are reported to have rebelled, will play a crucial role in a vote of trust in Parliament.

UNI NAZ SW HT1415