Released on = February 21, 2007, 2:29 am

Press Release Author = dma

Industry = Government

Press Release Summary = The Union government seems to have made up its mind to
impose president rule in Uttar Pradesh before February 26

Press Release Body = New Delhi, Feb 20: The Union government seems to have made up
its mind to impose president rule in Uttar Pradesh before February 26, the day Chief
Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has announced to seek trust vote.

The decision was taken after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held telephonic talks
first with his UPA allies and later with Left leaders Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan.
According to sources while Karat was opposed to the imposition of President Rule in
any state, Burdhran remained non-committed. It prompted the government to go ahead
with the demand of the state Congress party to evoke Article 356 in Uttar Pradesh on
the ground that the govern current government has lost moral right to govern
following the verdict of the Supreme Court.

The Congress Working Committee, which met Wednesday night, conveyed its position to
the government that free and fair polls to the state assembly could not be conducted
under the present dispensation. It left to the government to take a final view on
the issue. It is reliably learnt that prime minister Singh who was also present in
the meeting sought time to bring the UPA and Leftist allies on board on the issue.

Singh had already spoken to the leaders of DMK Karunanidhi who initially was opposed
to the imposition of President rule. Singh has successfully brought in on board. In
view of the speculations that President APJ Abdul Kalam might refuse to oblige the
government once the Union Cabinet recommends him to evoke President rule in UP for
his close proximity to Mulayam Singh Yadav, Singh also called on the President today
afternoon and held detailed discussion with him on the current law and order
situation in UP particularly in the aftermath of Supreme Court\'s verdict, which
disqualified 13 BSP MLAs who crossed over to Samajwadi Party during a trail of
strength.

Singh wants to build a consensus before taking a final decision on the issue. He has
called a meeting of core group of the Union Cabinet today evening to share the
details of his talks with the President Kalam. Singh met Kalam as there was
uncertainly in the Congress and UPA that the President might turned down the
government\'s recommendation on UP. In that case it could lead to a serious
confrontation between the government and the President ahead of the expiry of his
tenure.

The SP has meanwhile cleverly linked the issue of dismissal of the state government
with Presidential election. The party has charged the Congress of conspiring to deny
the UP assembly from participating in the voting to the Presidential election. Party
General Secretary Amar Singh who is apprehensive of his future accused the Congress
of attempting to got its man in the Rastrapati Bhawan by keeping UP out of the
picture.

The sources in the Congress said the government might act on UP before February 26
as it would not like the Mulayam Singh Yadav to go for trail of strength on the
floor of the House fearing another horse-trading. The governor of UP T S Rajeswar
has in its report also recommended the promulgation of Article 256 on the ground
that the government has fallen to minority and break down of law and order machinery
in the state.


However, there is a section in the Congress and the government that the imposition
of President Rule might go in favor of SP as the party might get sympathy. This view
was also widely discussed in the CWC meeting yesterday and since majority view was
in favour of President Rule, the party left it to the prime minister to decide.


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