National

Brinda Karat defends stand on President's rule

Allahabad: Defending its opposition to the imposition of President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Sundaysaid it was trying to prevent the misuse of Article 356 and not support the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government.

"Independent India has seen repeated misuse of Article 356 by parties in power at the Centre. CPI(M) is and will remain opposed to this," party Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat told reporters here.

She said it was the duty of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections and disapproved of any apprehension in this regard being used as an excuse for dismissing the Government.

Favouring amendments in Article 356 to prevent its misuse, she said the CPI(M) would have no problem if it was made a rule that elections in all States would be held only under the President's rule.

"But if you allow elections in Punjab with a Congress Government in place and demand dismissal of the Left Front regime in West Bengal when it goes to the polls, that will not be acceptable," she said.

To Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati's reported comments that CPI(M) was being non-committal as it had no stakes in the State, Ms. Karat said, "CPI(M) has stakes only in democracy. But Mayawati seems to have such high stakes in acquiring power that she is willing to shatter all democratic norms."

Observing that the CPI(M) will contest 15 seats for the polls in the State, she parried questions on electoral alliances, saying, "a final decision will be taken at the party's State committee meeting on March 6." — PTI

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