Dalit party breaks away from VP Singh-led Morcha

New Delhi, Mar 19 (UNI) Declaring that the VP Singh-led Pragatisheel Jana Morcha was now a ''fragmented entity'', the Indian Justice party today announced it was breaking away with the alliance and would contest 150 seats in Uttar Pradesh forming a separate Morcha.

Launching a frontal attack on top Pragatisheel Jan Morcha leaders, Justice Party chief Udit Raj said the leadership of the grand alliance, whose May 30 rally at Lucknow had scared Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, had now been monopolised by a few and was no more a threat to the Samajwadi Party.

One by one Morcha allies have gone away, mainly because there existed no mechanism for coordination among allies, and the business of the Morcha was monopolised, said the president of the party, which claims its base among dalits.

''In their enthusiasm to woo the Congress, they have forgotten other parties which had fought along with them in the recent agitations for farmers' cause'' he said.

''But in the process they have lost both the Congress and other allies,'' said Mr Udit Raj at a news confernce at which he announced that National Loktantrik Party vice president Dr Karan Singh had joined the Indian Justice Party and had been made its secretary.

He also announced that the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) which is also part of the new Morcha had been given four seats.

Mr Udit Raj said his talks with other parties and outfits was going on. Among them were some Muslim groups from Deoband and a section of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind besides PDF, a Uttar Pradesh based group.

He said the Jana Morcha led by Mr VP Singh had no base of its own.''It could get vote only out of certain circumstances that were developing, while have a definite vote base in the masses.'' ''We want to root out the corrupt government of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the prevent the equally corrupt Bahujan Samaj Party of Ms Mayawati from coming to power,'' he said.

However, the party's main aim is not political victory. Its agenda for the Assembly poll includes quota for Dalits in the private sector, reservation for OBC Mulsims out of 27 per cent reservation, removal of cap under Article 341 of the Indian Constitution to provide reservation benefit to Dalit Muslims, stop to acquisition of farmers' land etc, said Mr Udit Raj.

The India Justice Party is contesting elections for the first time.

UNI