Cong tells Centre to act to prevent horse trading

New Delhi, Feb 21 (UNI) Terming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's demand for a floor test in the Assembly as a "meaningless eyewash", the Congress today called upon the Central Government to take all steps to prevent horse-trading.

"Mr Mulayam Singh can not be allowed to defile democracy by resorting to horse trading as he does not enjoy majority," Congress Spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan said.

"Any attempt to prove his majority is nothing but a licence to subvert the democracy by bribing the MLAs to get their votes,''she said talking to mediapersons here.

Claiming that the Chief Minister enjoyed no majority support, Mrs Natrajan said the Samajwadi Party and its supporters in the Assembly represented numbers well below the half way mark of the majority. "Hence we call upon the Centre to ensure and take all steps to see that horse trading is not allowed." She said the Chief Minister had a track record of indulging in horse trading earlier with BSP MLAs. "Hence we call upon him (Mr Mulayam Singh) to resign on moral, political and ethical grounds." Without spelling out what action the Government should take, Mrs Natrajan said it was a request from the Congress to take all steps to prevent horse trading. However, she said it was a matter between the Governor and the President.

Asked why the Government was taking long to decide about the action to be taken, the Congress Spokesperson pointed out that it was a coalition government and therefore extensive consultations was natural. "Any time frame can not be set." Reiterating that the Mulayam Singh Government had lost all moral right to continue in office, Mrs Natrajan said the Chief Minister had failed to quit despite a clear Supreme Court verdict disqualifying 13 BSP MLAs supporting his government making a mockery of democracy.

Hitherto, she said, the Congress had watched the complete breakdown of law and order machinery with the state government actively condoning abetting the perpetrators. But nothing prevailed upon the Chief Minister to change his ways ."The time has come now for state government to go as the basic and fundamental tenets of democracy stand violated." UNI