Irked by rebellion, Mulayam plays communal card

New Delhi, Jul 20 (UNI) Irked by rebellion by a section of his MPs, Samajwadi Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today charged the Communist parties with siding with communal forces.

''Today Lal Krishna Advani and lal (red) flag have come together...after the Babri mosque, Red Fort and Parliament will be the next targets,'' he claimed.

He said while a few days ago, the Left parties were projecting him as the next Prime Minister. ''Now they are targetting me,'' he added.

The former UP Chief Minister also launched an attack on his one time friend Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP by claiming that he (Naidu) had no right to talk of secularism.

''Only the SP has fought for secularism...the remaining have only made statements and it only goes to prove that their stand on secularism and that of parties like BJP was only for public consumption.'' He also declared that he would never have any pact with the BJP, no matter whoever parted company with his party.

''The current developments have exposed the secular claims of the Left, Mr Chandra Babu Naidu and of so many others,'' he said at a crowded press conference here just 24 hours ahead of the trust motion in Parliament.

The SP chief asserted that all reports of any split in the SP were wrong and said only those who wanted money had deserted the party. Hamirpur MP Raj Narain Budholiya, Mr Yadav claimed, wanted to save a mining contract, which made him join the BSP.

The SP leader accused the BSP of using money to fuel rebellion in his party. ''Mr A B Bardhan knows who is spending money to buy votes and he should not charge others with buying MPs,'' he added.

He said the Left parties should seriously rethink with whom they are aligning.

To a poser, SP General Secretary Amar Singh said despite some of the MPs speaking out against the nuclear deal, their number was intact. ''Others have joined us to support the nuclear deal...we are back to the numbers we had,'' he claimed.

UNI NAB/NAZ AKJ NS1442