Won't allow communal forces to capture power

Jaunpur/Lucknow, Jul 6: Keeping all options open for alliance with the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said he can go up to any extent to prevent communal and castist forces to gain power at the Centre.

''I will not say a word on the possible alliance with the Congress at this moment, but will do whatever is required to thwart the attempt of the communal and castist forces to capture power,'' Mr Yadav said.

''Alliance or no-alliance with the Congress for the LS poll is not the main issue at this moment, but the main thrust would be to prevent the communal and castist forces to take political mileage and protect the people from the political uncertainty in the country'', the SP leader asserted.

''I will not let the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government fall on the Nuclear deal and would support the Congress-led central government for greater national interest'', he said.

Mr Yadav, who was in Jaunpur on the private visit to attend a marriage ceremony this afternoon, reiterated that no one wass above the national interest and he had decided to support the UPA government on the Nuclear deal to make the country one of the developed nation of the world.

''When every nation, including China and Pakistan, were signing the accord and are using nuclear for the development, then why should India be behind in this field,'' he questioned.

The former UP CM said he took the decision to support the Nuclear deal after talking to former President A P J Abdul Kalam and other experts.''Earlier India used to get uranium from Russia, but after its deintregration now, without signing this deal, India will certainly lose uranium to be used to generate electricity,'' Mr Yadav added.

When asked, if SP was going to contest the LS polls in alliance with the Congress, the leader said ''the matter could be sorted out later on but our first priority was to save the UPA government, if the Left parties withdraw their support over the Nuclear deal.'' Commenting on the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) leader Om Prakash Chautala's statements of removing him from the front after his support to the UPA, Mr Yadav said he was not removed from the UNPA, but the Mr Chautala himself left the alliance.

Attacking the Mayawati government in UP, the leader of the opposition in the State Assembly, said that the workers and leaders of the SP were being targetted by the BSP government.'' False and fabricated criminal cases were being registered against our leaders just to demoralise them before the Lok Sabha polls'', he alleged.

Mr Yadav was in Jaunpur to attend the marriage ceremony of the son of former MLA Savitri Devi.

UNI