The Hindu : 'Mayawati's action unilateral'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2003

National

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'Mayawati's action unilateral'

By Our special Correspondent

CHENNAI AUG. 25. The BJP Parliamentary Board will meet in New Delhi on Tuesday to decide the future course of action in the light of the political developments in Uttar Pradesh, the party president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said today.

The State leaders — Rajnath Singh, Lalji Tandon, Vinay Katiyar, Kalraj Mishra and Om Prakash Singh — had also been asked to attend the meeting, he added.

Describing the Chief Minister, Mayawati's action to seek the dissolution of the Assembly "unacceptable and unusual", Mr. Naidu told The Hindu that his party had decided to withdraw support to the BSP-led Government because Ms. Mayawati took the decision ``unilaterally''.

"The advice of Ms. Mayawati to dissolve the House is not binding on the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri, as the State leaders of the BJP had earlier met him and urged him not to accept such an advice". Asked what prompted the BJP to withdraw support, he said there was a coalition Government in Uttar Pradesh, but "she took a unilateral decision".

Mr. Naidu is here to address a public meeting marking the culmination of a `yatra' being taken out by the president of the State unit, C.P. Radhakrishnan.

Asked whether there was a mismatch between his party and the Bahujan Samaj Party of Ms. Mayawati, Mr. Naidu said "it is all a political experiment. In the Assembly elections (that took place in February 2002), no single party or a combination of parties secured a mandate to form the Government. As there could not be another election (to the Assembly) immediately, we, (the BJP and the BSP) came together to form the Government".

When it was pointed out that the alliance was formed overruling objections from some of the State leaders, Mr. Naidu said that "it was a decision taken by the party, not by individuals".

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