BSP goes all out to defeat UPA govt
BSP goes all out to defeat UPA govt
New Delhi: Sensing an opportunity to push her main political rival Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party against the ropes in an early election if the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, or UPA, government collapses in a 22 July trust vote in Parliament, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is said to be going all out to try and engineer the outcome of the show of strength.
Mayawati met new-found ally Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat on Sunday to discuss their mutual opposition to the India-US nuclear deal.
Karat would only say after the meeting that Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and the Left would cooperate in the “struggle" against the agreement.
According to a CPM official close to the development, Mayawati allegedly made a proposal that she was willing to match what she claimed was the current Congress offer of Rs25 crore for every member of Parliament ouside the UPA coalition willing to vote for the government.
Mint has no independent verification of this claim. However, it is not uncommon during political turmoil in India to have large sums of money being bandied about as inducements to vote in favour or against governments.
Mayawati is said to have sought the Left’s support for opening up the BSP’s purse strings effort, as the Left’s backing would give the BSP credibility while dealing with MPs who are yet to decide which side to vote for. A senior CPM leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party “may not be averse to conniving with BSP’s no-holds-barred strategy since it is a Herculean task to unseat the UPA, which has the support of the imperialist US."
krishnamurthy.r@livemint. com
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!