'Move to impose Prez's rule in UP a conspiracy'

Hardwar, Feb 20: The move to impose President's rule in Uttar Pradesh is a conspiracy to deprive the MLAs from participating in the Presidential election, General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh has alleged.

Mr Singh said the move initiated by the Congress at the behest of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, to dismiss unconstitutionally the duly elected Samajwadi Government in UP was aimed at depriving more than 400 MLAs of the state, the biggest in the country, from participating in the coming Presidential election.

Mr Amar Singh, along with Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan and former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh was addressing an election rally of the Samajwadi Party here last evening.

Hinting that the President was not likely to give his assent to the Centre's decisions to dismiss the Uttar Pradesh government, Mr Singh said if President's rule was imposed in UP its constitutional validity will be challenged in the Apex court.

''The President, who drew flak from the Supreme Court in the case of the imposition of the President's rule in Bihar, would not like again to be put in the dock by the Supreme Court,'' he said.

Referring to the issue of the exclusion of Hardwar district from Uttarakhand, he promised that the day the Samajwadi Party shared power at the Centre, the district would be restored to UP.

Mr Natwar Singh said if the UP government was dismissed, it would make Mulayam Singh Yadav a martyr and a hero. Referring to oil for food scam with Iraq, he alleged that since he was not a sycophant a deep conspiracy had been hatched against him. He dared the Congress leadership to expell him from the party.

Jaya Bachchan appealed to the voters to rally behind the Samajwadi Party in Uttarakhand since the results of assembly elections in the state would have a bearing on the assembly elections in UP.

UNI