Date:10/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/10/stories/2008071055661200.htm

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Deal is in national interest: Amar Singh

Special Correspondent

Amar Singh

NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party handed over its letter of support for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday afternoon. This was Samajwadi Party’s second letter of support for the UPA in its four-year stint.

The Samajwadi Party met the President 45 minutes after the Left parties met her.

Briefing mediapersons later, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh refused to go into how many of its members would support the government. Instead, his answer to questions on numbers was that the letter of support was issued on behalf of all those who were elected to the 14th Lok Sabha on the party symbol.

As to why the party chose to submit a fresh letter of support when it had not withdrawn the one issued in May 2004 after the formation of the UPA government, Mr. Amar Singh – who was accompanied by Parliamentary party leader Ram Gopal Yadav — said there was a need to end the confusion about his party’s position.

According to the Samajwadi Party leadership, there was a need to clear the air since the party had announced withdrawal of support ahead of the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. “We wanted to reiterate our position to the President so that there is no doubt whatsoever about our stand.”

As per the Lok Sabha website, the Samajwadi Party has 39 members. This includes Muzaffarnagar representative Munawwar Hasan – who rebelled against the party ahead of the 2007 U.P. Assembly elections and Jai Prakash, the party’s latest dissident. Though three other Samajwadi Party members – Ateeq Ahmed, Beni Prasad Verma and Raj Babbar – have openly differed with the party’s leadership, they are unlikely to challenge its whip on a trust vote as they are known to be pro-Congress.

Mr. Amar Singh said Mr. Verma and Mr. Ahmed have assured him of their support for the party’s decision. Further, he claimed the support of National Loktantrik Party member Baleshwar Yadav, elected from Padrauna.

He emphasised that the prime ministerial candidate of the National Democratic Alliance L.K. Advani was a bigger threat to the nation than U.S. President George Bush.

Critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party for questioning the SP’s decision to bail out the UPA and alleging a “deal within a deal”, he said: “After meeting the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, we have become convinced that the deal is in the national interest. And, as far as we are concerned, Advani, [Narendra] Modi and Mayawati are the biggest threat.”