CM huddles with party brass to discuss confidence vote, polls

Lucknow, Feb 23 (UNI) Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today asked senior party leaders to end personal differences ahead of the impending assembly elections.

Sources said that Mr Yadav, in a meeting with senior party leaders and ministers, asked them to end political and personal differences and prepare themselves for the Assembly elections beginning April 7.

Ministers Ambika Chaudhury, Waqar Ahmed Shah, Ram Govind Chaudhury and Ashok Bajpai were amongst the others present in the meeting.

The meeting also holds significance in the backdrop of the possibility of imposition of President's Rule in the state. ''Though the declaration of Assembly elections has significantly lessened the possibility of President's Rule, nothing could be said before February 26 when the CM would seek a confidence vote on the floor of the House,'' confided a SP leader.

Instead of seeking a trust vote directly, the government has decided to bring a Finance Bill on February 26 to approve sops for former legislators.

Even as the Assembly poll dates were announced on Wednesday, the government yesterday gave its nod to bring a Bill to hike the pension of former legislators from Rs 3,000 per month to Rs 5,000 with an annual increment of Rs 500.

The finance bill -- UP State Legislative (Member Emolument) Amendment Bill 2007 -- will also raise the annual free railway coupon of ex-MLAs from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. The government will incur an additional financial burden of Rs nine crore in this move.

Sources said the passage of the Bill will now be deemed as a trust vote.

The ruling party, meanwhile, has continued its attack on the Congress and state governor T V Rajeswar over the possible imposition of Article 356 in the state. While senior party leaders had been vocal on the issue, a group of SP activists this noon stopped a local passenger train at Aishbagh railway station here to protest Centre's ''conspiracy'' to impose President's Rule.

The party workers also burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the state governor. While the PM's effigy was burnt to protest inflation, the governor's effigy was torched to protest the possible President's Rule in the state.

UNI