BJP to back Centre on President's rule in UP: Joshi

Varanasi, Nov 20 (UNI) In a significant development, the BJP today made it clear that it will back any move by the Centre to impose President's rule in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2007 assembly polls.

''The state is going through lawlessness and anarchy at the hands of the ruling Samajwadi Party and free and fair assembly elections were impossible in the reign of Mulayam Singh Yadav. If the UPA government goes for central rule in UP, the BJP will support that move,'' former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi told newspersons here this evening.

Dr Joshi said the UP Chief Minister was prolonging the length of the assembly session only out of the fear that announcing the end of the session could result in central rule being clamped in the state, which will be against the electoral interests of his "non-performing regime".

''He has called a special session of the assembly on November 25.

Let us see what he intends to do there,'' Dr Joshi quipped.

When asked about the possibility of Mr Yadav recommending the dissolution of the assembly to ensure that polls are held under his caretaker regime, Dr Joshi said, ''former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandra Babu Naidu did the same mistake and suffered a drubbing at the hands of Congress in the subsequent assembly polls.

Let common sense prevail on the UP CM.'' When asked about Mayawati-led BSP being the major player in the next elections in UP, the former BJP president said the recent statements of BSP supremo have hurt her party and after the assembly polls, BJP will emerge as the dominant party in the state.

''Mayawati ka teer ab tarkash mein wapas ja chooka hai'' (Ms Mayawati's arrow is now back in the quiver).

UNI ARS ATI VA BD1948