Lucknow, February 21
In an anticipatory move in the face of possible dismissal of his government, Samajwadi Party chief and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today announced the withdrawal of support to the Congress-led UPA government.
At the same time, the party also declared “halla bol” on the Congress and appealed to the Left parties to review their support to the government.
Charging the Congress of being “hand-in-glove” with communal forces like the BJP as the main reason behind his decision, Mr Yadav declared that he had supported the UPA to weaken those very forces and now in the light of new developments they could no longer continue their support.
According to him, the main point on which the Congress decided to join hands with the communal forces was the imposition of the President’s rule in Uttar Pradesh. “We are going to withdraw support to the UPA and henceforth, our 42 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 16 MPs in the Rajya Sabha will sit in the opposition benches,” he pointed out.
The significant political decision came at an emergency meeting of the party MPs, MLAs and other functionaries at its headquarters in the state capital today.
The chief minister accused the Congress of repeatedly conspiring against the Samajwadi government in the state and declared that his party was prepared for another battle.
Accusing the Congress of “shying away from elections”, Mr Yadav said it (congress) wanted to rule UP through the backdoor. “We had recommended polls in February but the Election Commission is delaying the elections,” he said.
Describing the UPA a “complete failure on all fronts”, he said by perpetuating a crisis in the state, the Congress was attempting to divert attention from inflation and its other failures.
He called upon his party cadres to come out on the streets and hold peaceful demonstrations as soon as the Congress dismisses his government. “Take the achievements of our government to the people and use this opportunity to prepare for elections,” he added.
Striking a belligerent tone, senior Samajwadi MP Janeshwar Misra said it was time for socialists of all hues to resort to “halla bol” against the Congress.
Raising the slogan of “Sonia raj pe halla bol, Dilli raj pe halla bol,” Mr Mishra asked the party workers to ensure that the Centre was not allowed to carry on its schemes in Uttar Pradesh if the Mulayam government was dismissed.
Reiterating his favourite line Samajwadi MP Amar Singh said it was ironical that the Congress formed to oust foreign powers was now working under foreign influence.
“Even USA allowed Saddam Hussein to go through a trial but ‘mallika-e-Hindustan’ Sonia Gandhi and ‘raj kunwar’ Rahul Gandhi want to murder democracy in Uttar Pradesh without any further delay. Their impatience will lead them to their doom,” he said.
He warned that state governor T.V. Rajeswar was following in the footsteps of former Bihar governor Buta Singh who had been severely indicted by the Supreme Court.
