Mulayam ends stalemate; UP cabinet decides to prorogue assembly

Lucknow, Jan 11 (UNI) Withdrawing from a possible showdown with the Raj Bhawan, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh decided not to reconvene the monsoon session on January 15 after Governor T V Rajeswar prorogued it.

The fourth cabinet within a span of 46 hrs, at last, decided to withdraw the decision taken in the first cabinet in the night of January 9 to reconvene the monsoon session from January 15 to take the vote of confidence after Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) snapped ties with the government.

Emerging out of a hurriedly convened special cabinet meeting here this evening, the CM said it was decided to withdraw the January 9 decision to reconvene the monsoon session.

''Anyhow, a new session of the assembly will be convened at a later date. As of now, the monsoon session stands prorogued,'' he said.

A notification to prorogue the session is likely to be issued by speaker Mata Prasad Pandey tonight itself.

Earlier, the speaker also gave enough hint about the government's backward move by saying he will issue the notification once the file is returned by the parliamentary affairs department.

The political development started after Mr Ajit Singh withdrew his three RLD ministers from the ruling dispensation over sugarcane prices.

Even as the cabinet decided to reconvene the assembly, the governor gave his assent to prorogue the house on the decision of the cabinet taken on January 3.

On January 10, the government held two cabinet meetings one on a regular basis, while another an emergency one in the evening to endorse reconvening of the monsoon session.

Meanwhile, Mr Rajeswar has accepted the resignation letter of three RLD ministers -- Kaukab Hamid, Virendra Singh -- both cabinet and minister of state Swami Omvesh.

MORE UNI