Mulayam decides to convene new session on Jan 18,CM meets Governor

Lucknow, Jan 12 (UNI) In a fresh twist to the ongoing political controversy in Uttar Pradesh, the Mulayam Singh government today decided to convene the Assembly from January 18 for the winter session during which it will seek vote of confidence after joint address by the Governor.

Mr Yadav met governor T V Rajeswar at the Raj Bhawan this noon and was closetted with him for about 45 minutes, during which he conveyed to him the cabinet decision this morning to hold a fresh assembly session.

Later talking to mediapersons outside the Rajbhawan, the CM said the Governor had accepted his invitation to address the joint session of the house on January 18.

''We had a very good talk,'' he said, adding that discussions was cordial.

Ruling out any other political reason for his meeting with the Governor, Mr Yadav said that he had only met him to invite him for addressing the joint session of the state legislature, which Mr Rajeswar immediately accepted.

The decision to hold a fresh assembly session -- which comes barely a few hours after the government averted a possible showdown with the Raj Bhawan by deciding not to reconvene the monsoon session on January 15 after Governor T V Rajeswar prorogued it -- was taken at a meeting of the cabinet this morning.

The session will begin by an address by the Governor to a joint session of the state legislature and then there will a debate on the Motion of Thanks, followed by a vote of confidence. The government is also expected to announce some sops in view of the elections.

This morning's cabinet meeting was the record fifth in the last 60 hours, and came just 12 hrs after the meeting last night where it was decided to withdraw the decision taken on January 9's meeting 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 the meeting last night, the CM said it was decided to withdraw the January 9 decision to reconvene the monsoon session which was adjourned sine die on December 15 after approving the vote-on-account for the first four months of the next financial year. The monsoon session started on August 21 last and had only 14 sittings.

The political developments 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.

Much political heat was generated in the last three days after the ruling party charged the governor with acting beyond his constitutional powers, and ''conspiring to create a ''constitutional crisis in UP.'' UNI