LUCKNOW: The BJP on Sunday said the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh should be held under the President's rule as the ruling ``Samajwadi Party wants to win the poll with the help of criminals and state officers''.

``Free and fair elections are not possible under the current regime, as SP wants to win it with the help of criminals and officers. When political parties of the state are demanding imposition of President's rule, it means they have some valid reasons,'' state BJP chief Keshari Nath Tripathi said while talking to mediapersons here.

Even the State Election Commissioner had accepted that the commission was under tremendous pressure during local bodies polls, he claimed while trying to drive home the point that Uttar Pradesh was a fit case for President's rule.

``Samajwadi Party's special convention here showed that the party was demoralised with the defeat in the recent local bodies election and trying for some `face saving'.''

Sour relations

Commenting on sour relations of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeswar, he said the Governor should be given due respect and ``foul language'' should not be used against him.

``If he (Governor) writes to the Centre, the state government should not object. It is his duty to do so,'' he said.

Unbiased

Clarifying about the presence of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey at the party function, Tripathi, who also remained the Speaker for a long time, said ``the Speaker should be unbiased and he should avoid attending party functions.''

Meanwhile, The BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has also criticised Speaker's presence at the SP convention yesterday and said it violated established democratic traditions.

Pandey had not only attended the convention but had also joined Samajwadi Party leaders in criticising the state governor T V Rajeswar, he said.

PTI

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