M A I N   N E W S

BJP verdict against Mulayam
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 5
The BJP today decided to issue a whip to its MLAs in Uttar Pradesh to vote against the confidence motion to be moved by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state Assembly on September 8.

BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party leadership at a meeting today decided to oppose the confidence motion and a whip would be issued asking its 87 MLAs in the 403-member UP Assembly to be present and vote against the government.

The spokesman said the BJP had decided that its role would be in the Opposition Benches and it would play its role effectively and aggressively. “We will not stake claim even if Mr Mulayam loses the confidence vote,” he said.

Concerned over media reports about a “hidden” understanding between Mr Yadav and some of its leaders, the BJP top leadership decided to go all out to dispel the popular impression, sources said.

The top leadership was worried that the BJP would suffer electorally in the biggest state if the impression was allowed to persist and that is why today’s meeting took the decision, the sources said, adding that the move was also in line with the thinking of some top Central leaders of the party, who believe that the BSP should not be alienated completely, with the Lok Sabha poll just a year away.

Wanting Mr Yadav to spell out his stand on the Ayodhya issue, Mr Naqvi said as far as the BJP was concerned, it certainly wanted a temple, but did not want to politicise the issue.

The party, which has 87 members, has decided to issue a whip “in the next couple of days to ensure that its MLAs vote against the motion”.

The meeting, chaired by party President M. Venkaiah Naidu, was attended among others by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Joshi, Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh, state unit President Vinay Katiyar, state in charge Kalraj Mishra, Leader of the Legislature Party Lalji Tandon, senior leader Om Prakash Singh, besides Central general secretaries Pramod Mahajan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Sanjay Joshi.

The decision came amidst speculation that the party may abstain during voting and bail out Mr Yadav, who was sworn in on August 29 after the collapse of the BSP-BJP coalition government headed by Ms Mayawati.

Mr Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party has 142 members, has claimed support of 210 MLAs, including Congress (16), Rashtriya Lok Dal (14), RKP (four) and 19 others, including a few from the BSP.

The BJP leadership also decided not to make any attempt to form an alternative government in the event of Mr Yadav failing to muster the requisite numbers.

The meeting also rejected the “baseless and confusing statements” of former Chief Minister Mayawati that a lobby within the BJP was responsible for the fall of her government and snapping of ties between the two parties.

“The BJP is completely united on every issue”, Mr Naqvi said.

He also rejected speculation that BJP MLAs may vote in favour of Mr Yadav during the confidence motion.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Naidu defended the decision, saying that the BSP-BJP government was warranted by the prevailing circumstances.