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Thursday, Feb 10, 2005

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Congress, BSP trying to bring down Mulayam Government: SP

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi. Feb. 9. The Samajwadi Party believes that the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party have joined hands to topple the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in Uttar Pradesh. "There is absolutely no doubt that these two parties have joined hands, to try and bring down our Government in the State," says Ram Gopal Yadav, the leader of the SP in the Lok Sabha.

A day after the BSP chief, Mayawati, demanded the sacking of the Mulayam Government, and the Congress made public its plan to mount pressure on the State Government, the SP leadership appears convinced that the two parties are part of a pincer movement aimed at unseating Mr. Yadav. "These announcements are coordinated, they are working to a plan," says a senior SP leader.

On the face of it, the SP leadership shrugs off the threat to its government. "They can keep conspiring, we have the numbers and will prove our strength on the floor of the House whenever the need arises," says a Lok Sabha MP of the SP. However, a probe makes it evident that the party is more than a bit worried over the notice served on 40 BSP MLAs who shifted allegiance to the SP.

The SP leadership believes that the demand by the Congress and the BSP for President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh after the murder of the BSP MLA in Allahabad is another instance of the understanding between them. "This is not the first time that an elected representative has been assassinated. Just the other day a TDP MLA was gunned down in AP. But no such demand was raised," says the SP general secretary, Amar Singh.

SP gets busy

According to Mr. Singh, more elected representatives were murdered when the other parties were in power than during the SP rule. "Three elected representatives were gunned down during Kalyan Singh's term as CM, and a similar number when Rajnath Singh was in office. During Vora's term as Governor four such murders took place," points out Mr. Singh. The SP leadership has already begun mobilising support and its leaders are in touch with regional parties in the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties to try and forestall any attempt by the Congress-led UPA Government to destabilise the State Government.

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