Consultations on Prez rule in UP continue, Karat meets PM

New Delhi, Feb 20 (UNI) The Manmohan Singh government has so far not been able to firm up a decision on whether to invoke Article 356 in Uttar Pradesh in the wake of the Left parties vehement opposition to any such move.

An indication to this effect was available after a ten minute -meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat at 7 Race Course Road this evening.

CPI(M) sources insisted that during the one-to-one meeting Mr Karat explained the Left official position that under no circumstances the Mulayam government be dismissed.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau at its two-day meeting here has already said it categorically that there is rather an urgent need for a constitutional amendment to the "draconian law" which had been misused at least on 110 to 120 occasions.

Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has also talked to CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan to seek his party's backing to its dismissal move on legal and constitutional counts.

The CPI veteran reportedly told her that while Mr Yadav should have resigned of his own on moral grounds but there was no question of invoking Article 356 as the Left as a whole had taken an in principle stand and rather the Anti-Defection Law be strengthened.

Senior Congress leader and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has also contacted the leaders of the Forward Bloc and the RSP in this connection, the sources added.

UNI