UNPA, BSP, Left parties to vote against UPA
Agencies
New Delhi, July 20:
The opposition to the Manmohan Singh government gained further momentum ahead of the trust vote with the UNPA, BSP and the Left parties jointly declaring their resolve to go for the kill.
"Our one-point programme is to oust the UPA government on July 22," declared BSP supremo Mayawati in the presence of CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI leader A B Bardhan as also TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu.
Echoing similar sentiments, Karat, who has vowed to make the Congress-led coalition bite dust on the issue of nuclear deal, said, addressing a joint press conference, "we don't want the government to remain in power after July 22."
These parties have a combined strength of 85 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Mayawati, who has emerged as the focal point in the moves to oust UPA government and is being talked about as the next Prime Ministerial candidate by some parties like TRS and TDP, said that the parties would decide on the future strategy on July 23, a day after the trust vote.
The press conference came at the end of the intense consultations among UNPA leaders, Mayawati and Left parties on a day when there were good tidings for the combination with RLD supremo Ajit Singh declaring his support to their cause.
Atmosphere at the deliberations was buoyant and Mayawati was strident in her criticism of arch detractor Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh of the Samajwati Party, who till the other day were the leading light of the UNPA.
INLD's Ajay Chautala, AGP's Brindavan Goswami, Jharkhand leader Babulal Marandi and CPI leader D Raja were present at the meeting which devised the strategy to topple the UPA government.
JD-U fears defection
New Delhi, July 20:
The Janata Dal (United) fears that two of its MPs may defy the whip in the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22. The two MPs -- P P Koya, party MP from Lakshadweep, and Ramswaroop Prasad, representing Nalanda Lok Sabha constituency -- did not turn up at the party's two-day national executive meeting which ended here on Sunday.
Also read: JD-S to vote against UPA in trust vote | RLD to oppose govt | Sonia wins JMM suuport
Party spokesman Shambhu Srivastwa, however, sought to downplay their absence saying they would vote against the government on July 22.
Koya was said to be seriously ill, but party sources claimed he would make at the time of voting.
Prasad, who could not be contacted over phone, was said to be unhappy with the party leadership over the issue of giving ticket to his son for a particular assembly seat in Bihar. He is reported to have said that he would vote for the government.
Asked to comment on their absence, JD (U) president Sharad Yadav exuded confidence that all the eight party MPs in the Lok Sabha would oppose the confidence vote.
"Our strength will not decrease. Rather our number will increase," he said, hinting at possible support from some UPA parties, including the RJD.
Yadav was briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, which resolved to launch an agitation "from the very next day of the defeat of the UPA" on issues like price rise and farmers' suicides, besides the nuclear deal.
A highlight of the meeting was the presence of former party chief George Fernandes, for the first time in two years after he lost to Yadav in the organisational poll.
Print This Page
Terms
and Conditions