SP adamant to hold assembly session from Jan 15

Lucknow, Jan 10 (UNI) The Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Uttar Pradesh government today decided to take the Raj Bhawan head on by staying firm on reconvening the assembly on January 15 even after Governor T V Rajeswar's prorogued the Monsoon session of the state assembly.

SP leader and state minister Naresh Agarwal today asserted that the state government would seek a vote of confidence on January 15 in a specially convened assembly session.

'' We will prove the majority of the government on the floor of the House without the RLD and the Congress, ''Mr Agarwal told reporters here following the resignation of three RLD ministers from the state government.

Mr Rajeswar gave his assent to prorogue the assembly session after the state cabinet approved it on January three as the house was adjourned sine-die on December 15, 2006. To this, the SP leader said the cabinet had the right to change its decision.

The bone of contention between the Raj Bhawan and the government is the issue of reconvening monsoon session -- which started on August 21, 2006 -- from January 15. The government wants that session to continue whereas the Governor has prorogued it, making null and void the Uttar Pradesh's cabinet's last night decision to reconvene the assembly session on January 15.

The Mulayam Singh Yadav government is not in favour of a new sesssion in order to avoid the Governor's address which takes places at the first session of the year. In case of the monsoon session being extended, there is no need of the governor's address.

Another senior SP leader and MP Beni Prasad Verma alleged that the Governor prorogued the assembly this morning after the cabinet had met the last night. He questioned the validity of the Governor's decision in this regard.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohd Azam Khan today said the Governor's decision was taken after the state cabinet decided last night to reconvene the session.

''The cabinet had decided well before the Governor gave his assent to progrogue the house...the cabinet has full power to revert its decision,'' he added. The Speaker too had notified reconvening of the session last night, Mr Khan claimed.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh said he had convened the special session to take up some important agenda.

Starting on August 21 last, the monsoon session with only 14 sittings was adjourned sine-die on December 15 after approving the vote-on-account for the first four months of the next fiscal.

Meanwhile, the SP also dismissed any possibility of a patch up with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) when Mr Agarwal described its President Ajit Singh as a ''powerbroker''. The 15 MLA-strong RLD, an ally of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in the state, has withdrawn its ministers from the government posing a few problems for the ruling dispensation.

UNI