President's Rule in UP: Oppn builds up case; SP ups defence

Lucknow, Feb 19 (UNI) Even as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) discusses the vexed issue of imposing President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh tonight, political parties opposing the Samajwadi Party in the state have started building a case for the discussial the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.

On the other hand, the ruling SP has started to in case the centre decides upon invoking Atricle 356 in UP.

Talking to newsmen at Amausi Airport here this evening, BJP president and former UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh said his party would support any Bill to bring the state under President's rule.

''Two national parties want to bring UP under President's rule, but it is the fear of losing communists' support, that is preventing the centre from acting,'' Mr Singh said. Incidentally, he had expressed similar views in the national capital earlier today.

''The law and order situation in UP is out of control for at least one-and-a-half years and the BJP had offered support to any Bill in Parliament to set things right in the country's biggest state in terms of population.'' Mr Singh said BJP had taken a delegation to President A P J Abdul Kalam asking him to bring UP under Governor's rule, but he could not act without the UPA cabinet's advice. The Centre is worried about its own stability and does not want to act, he alleged.

Another former CM, BSP national president Mayawati today submitted yet another memorandum to Governor T V Rajeswar seeking immediate dismissal of the Mulayam government. She also asked the Governor to send a 'reminder' to the Centre seeking imposition of President's Rule in UP.

Ms Mayawati also demanded the resignation of state legislative assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey for failing to implement the Supreme Court ruling disqualifying 13 MLAs. ''Most of the 37 MLAs in question are still enjoying ministerial status despite the SC ruling, which is clear that not only 13, but all the 37 MLAs stand disqualified...Under Atricle 164 of the Constitution, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav is running an illegal government and it is time he is forced to step down,'' she added.

This is the second BSP memorandum to the Governor in four days.

On Thursday, BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya had submitted a memorandum to Raj Bhawan seeking dismissal of the state government.

Ms Mayawati also launched an attack on former assembly speaker and BJP state unit president Kesarinath Tripathi for his 2003 ruling accepting a split in BSP and the formation of Loktantrik Bahujan Dal (LBD). The LBD had merged with the ruling SP, helping Mr Yadav form an alternative government in UP.

Asking for the Governor's intervention in the ongoing political scenario, the former Prime Minister V P Singh-led Jan Morcha today asked to him to prevent the UP CM seeking a confidence vote in the assembly to prevent possibilities of 'horse trading'.

Jan Morcha leader and suspended SP MP Raj Babbar today met Mr Rajeswar and sought his intervention on the issue. ''The governor has hinted he would send a fresh report to the Centre either this evening or tomorrow,'' he said.

Mr Babbar wondered why the CM was planning a confidence vote when he had already won the same on January 25. ''Does he want to hide his defeat following the SC judgement by seeking a fresh vote.'' The film star-turned-politician, who held discussions with the Governor for about 30 minutes, said imposition of President's Rule in UP was not a political issue. ''After the apex court judgement, it becomes binding to clamp Atricle 356 in UP,'' he said adding Left parties, including the CPI (M) should look at the issue as a legal one.

Meanwhile, Mr Yadav today sought to question why attempts were being made to dismiss his government. ''I have done nothing unethical...what is my fault,'' Mr Yadav said at a felicitation function organised by the All India Brahmin Mahasabha in Vrindavan, Mathura. He claimed his government had provided free education, pension, unemployment allowance and Kanya Vidyadhan Yojna to all the sections of people, without any discrimination.

''My government still enjoys the confidence of people...those, who command people's confidence always wins,'' the CM observed.

He asserted the apex court had not made any adverse comments on his government. ''I would have surely resigned on moral grounds, if the apex court had made a similar observation, which it made on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Jharkhand issue.

On the other hand, ruling SP activists staged a violent agitation near Raj Bhawan today to protest the alleged role of Congress and Governor in conspiring to impose President's Rule in UP.

Senior SP leader and state agriculture minister Dr Ashok Bajpai said similar protests were held across the state. ''The SP workers handed over memoranda to the President of India through DMs seeking removal of the Governor.'' In Lucknow, SP activists led by senior leaders and Rajya Sabha members Bhagwati Singh, Banwari Lal Kanchal and local SP leader Ravidas Mehrotra burnt Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rajeswar in effigy. They also burnt tyres to block the main road near Raj Bhawan.

They raised anti-Congress and anti-Governor slogans during their agitation, termed as 'halla bol', which led to severe traffic chaos in the state capital during rush hour.

Massive contingents of police were deployed to control the SP activists and security forces had a hard time preventing them from marching towards Raj Bhawan. Later, the activists were taken into custody and sent to Police Lines.

Talking to mediapersons, Bhagwati Singh said the agitation was held to protest the 'conspiracy' hatched by Congress with the help of the Governor to dismiss a democratically elected government.

''The agitation was meant to warn the Raj Bhawan and Congress, that any undemocratic steps to dismiss the Mulayam government would only backfire.''

UNI