New Delhi, July 26
Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and his general secretary Amar Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today amidst speculation in political circles about the SP joining the government shortly.
Mulayam, however, later said, “We did not discuss this (joining the Cabinet) at all.” But he did not say what transpired at this meeting.
The expansion of the Cabinet is being talked about in the government circles since the UPA government won the confidence vote here on Tuesday, in spite of the four Left parties withdrawing support and voting against the motion.
The government succeeded in winning the vote after securing the support of the SP with 34 members and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) with five members. JMM chief Shibu Soren was initially in the UPA government when it was formed in 2004 but had to go out after arrest warrants against him.
Since he has been acquitted of the murder charge, he has been urging the Prime Minister to take him back in the government. Similarly, the SP, which had 40 MPs in 2004, was also supporting the UPA from outside and has no representation in the government. Now, there have been reports that the SP will soon join the Cabinet. This speculation was further fuelled after Amar Singh left it vague yesterday when mediapersons asked him about the possibility of joining the government.
