CPI (M), SP issue whips to their MPs ahead of vote of confidence date

New Delhi, July 18 : The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Samajwadi Party today issued a three-line whip to their Members of Parliament to be present in the Lok Sabha on July 21 and 22.

The CPI (M) asked 43 of its MPs to vote against the Congress led United Progressive Alliance Government. The party also asked them to reach New Delhi on July 20 and to be present in Parliament on the following two days.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has not been served with a whip.

The whip was issued ahead of a two-day CPI (M) Central Committee meeting in New Delhi that begins on Saturday. The Samajwadi Party has also issued a whip to its 39 MPs to vote in favour of the UPA Government.

Only 16 of the 39 Lok Sabha members of the Samajwadi Party turned up at a meeting that was addressed by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and General Secretary Amar Singh here today.

The vote in favour of the Government hinges also on the presence of jailed MPs Ateeq Ahmed and Afzal Ansari and suspended MPs Raj Babbar and Beni Prasad Verma.

The Janata Dal (Secular) is meeting in Bangalore, where party chief and former Prime Minister, H.D. Devegowda, will take a final decision on how to move on the trust vote.

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) has decided to vote against the government during the confidence motion, but two out of four rebel MPs, have decided to vote for the government.

Telengana Rashtra Samity President K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has already decided to vote against the Government, is meeting Rastriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh this evening here to discuss the trust vote.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has also hinted that it could support the government on the deal.

The National Democratic Alliance has claimed that all its constituents would vote against the government.

Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesman Arun Jaitley confirmed that all BJP MPs would meet in New Delhi on the July 20 to decide their final strategy on the floor of the House.

Jaitley said that Akali Dal would vote with other the NDA partners against the government.

ANI