The Hindu : U.P. imbroglio finds echo in LS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 06, 2003

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U.P. imbroglio finds echo in LS

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI March 5. The Uttar Pradesh imbroglio continued to cast its shadow on the proceedings in Parliament. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Home Minister, L.K. Advani, had a tough time persuading Oppositions MPs not to insist on the tabling of the letter sent by the U.P. Chief Minister, Mayawati, in the Lok Sabha.

The Government had been directed by the Lok Sabha Speaker, M.M. Joshi to get a report from Ms. Mayawati on the incident regarding the video expose relating to the misuse of the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds. Mr. Advani told the House that he was in receipt of a letter from Ms. Mayawati but pleaded with members not to insist on the letter being tabled.

He said the letter contained several allegations against the Samajwadi Party leaders and it would not add to the prestige of Parliament to have it become a part of parliamentary record. His plea was initially resisted by Priyaranjan Dasmunshi (Cong.) and Akhilesh Singh (SP).

Later, Mr. Vajpayee intervened to urge the members not to insist on it. He said his Government was prepared to hand over the letter to the Speaker and would be guided by whatever he decided in the matter. Mr. Advani also pointed out that the U.P. Assembly was seized of the matter and it should be left to deal with the issue.

The former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar, agreed with the Government that the letter should not be allowed to become a part of the official records. However, he referred to the "grave situation" in U.P. and said most people feared a "civil war" in the State. He urged the Government to look into the situation.

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