The Hindu : Front Page : SP challenges Congress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 13, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

SP challenges Congress

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12. The Samajwadi Party today challenged the Congress to bring down the Government led by it in Uttar Pradesh. While pointing out the "inability" of the Congress to do anything against the State Government, the party leaders, Ram Gopal Yadav and Amar Singh, said: "They neither have the strength nor the guts."

Addressing the media, they called on the party cadre to be "prepared" for a long-drawn struggle against the Congress-led Government at the Centre. While accusing the Congress of having lost "its mental balance" and behaving arrogantly, they warned it against mistaking the Samajwadi Party's "restraint" as a sign of weakness.

The souring relationship between the two parties, resulting in verbal exchanges, has begun to worry some of the friendly parties. Today, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), counselled restraint. Mr. Surjeet, who shares an excellent rapport with the Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, indicated his disapproval of the manner in which the Congress leaders were targeting the Uttar Pradesh Government. " It is wrong, they should not do it," he said.

Mr. Surjeet's advice appears to have had little effect. The Congress leadership continued with its sniping, with the party chief, Sonia Gandhi, once again criticising the State Government. On the second day of her thanksgiving visit to Rae Bareli, her Lok Sabha constituency, Ms. Gandhi said the State had failed to make progress in the last couple of years because of the preoccupation of successive non-Congress Governments with caste and communal politics.

The Samajwadi Party leadership is reported to be preparing itself for the worst case scenario and has begun to project the ongoing tussle with the Congress as a result of the Congress' "long-held prejudice" against leaders belonging to the backward castes and the smaller parties. The Samajwadi Party also took objection to the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil's comments on the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and the Ministry's decision to summon the Director-General of Police and the State Home Secretary. "How can they summon the two officials without even discussing the matter with the Chief Minister," asked Mr. Amar Singh.

Asked whether the party was thinking in terms of withdrawing support to the Manmohan Singh Government, Mr. Singh said: "We will decide when the time comes."

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