The Hindu : Front Page : Parties issue whip as countdown starts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 19, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Parties issue whip as countdown starts

Sandeep Dikshit and Anita Joshua

12 MPs did not attend meet convened by Mulayam Singh

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist), the CPI, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) issued whips to their Lok Sabha members on Friday, asking them to vote as per the party decision during the trust vote on July 22.

Besides issuing a whip to its four members, the MDMK submitted a letter to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee informing him of the Election Commission decision recognising Vaiko as its general secretary. However, MDMK rebel leader L. Ganesan told The Hindu that he and Gingee N. Ramachandran would vote as per the decision of the Democratic Progressive Alliance leader M. Karunanidhi.

Meanwhile, the efforts to shore up numbers continued but the undecided parties – including a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) constituent, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) – kept both sides guessing. There was speculation through the day that JMM chief Shibu Soren was being offered a Cabinet berth or would be made Jharkhand Chief Minister.

Another UPA constituent – the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimmen – is yet to take a decision on whether to vote with the government or against it. Its lone MP Asaduddin Owaisi said his party would take a decision by Saturday morning. Stories of desertions in the Congress camp itself did the rounds, though the party’s spokesman Veerappa Moily maintained that all such reports were baseless.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh convened a meeting of Lok Sabha members but admitted that 12 MPs could not make it. While three SP members have said they will defy the whip, two are in jail. Among the other absentees, Salim Sherwani could not attend because of his son’s wedding. There was a death in the family of Usha Verma. Another notable absentee was S. Bangarappa. The Samajwadi Party leadership, however, did not elaborate on the absence of the other members.

Rebel SP MP says he was offered Rs. 25 crore

Elsewhere in the capital around the same time, rebel Samajwadi Party member Munnawar Hasan said he had the support of seven MPs. Describing the India-U.S. nuclear deal as anti-Muslim, the Muzaffarnagar MP said he would formally join the Bahujan Samaj Party after the trust vote. Further, he claimed that he was offered Rs. 25 crore to vote in favour of the government.

Late in the evening, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K. Chandrasekhar Rao flew into the capital and met his Rashtriya Lok Dal counterpart Ajit Singh. JD (S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda is due here on Saturday and is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Meanwhile, Lok Jan Shakti Party leader and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was optimistic of the government winning the trust vote.

Declining to go into the details, Mr. Paswan was hopeful of the UPA alliance garnering the support of 276-288 Lok Sabha MPs. On Mr. Soren, he said the JMM leader would side with the government.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page