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`Jan Morcha' to hold rally in Lucknow

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his bete noire Ram Vilas Paswan may share the dais

LUCKNOW: With an eye on the coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and as a show of strength of their newly-floated "Jan Morcha", former Prime Minister V. P. Singh and expelled Samajwadi Party leader Raj Babbar will organise a rally here on May 30 in which Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his bete noire Ram Vilas Paswan may share the dais along with Left leaders.

``The rally may give an indication of the future politics of the country, which is going through a bad phase where money and muscle power is dominating,'' Mr. V. P. Singh told reporters here on Tuesday.

Naming a few who will be attending the rally, Mr. Singh said ``presence of Lalu and Paswan is a good sign''. Left leaders A. B. Bardhan, Sidharammaiya and D. Raja besides Rakesh Tikait, son of BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, would participate, he said.

Asked whether the Jan Morcha would try to present itself as an alternative to the Congress, Mr. Singh said, ``Let us see what happens.''

Though the former Prime Minister criticised the policies of the state government, he did not take the name of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying ``hum vyakti nahi nitiyon ke khilaf hain. (We are not opposed to the person but his policies).''

Mr. Raj Babbar said the common man in Uttar Pradesh was feeling ``demoralised'' as those who talked of "samajwad" (socialism) were now ``behind the capitalists''.

State Minister for Culture Brijendra Pratap Singh, MLA Kaushal Kishore and former Minister Masood Ahmad announced their decision to join the Jan Morcha. Mr. Brijendra Singh, however, said he would not step down from the Mulayam Singh Yadav Cabinet and would continue pointing out ``the lacunae in the system'' while retaining his post. - PTI.

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