BSP follows BJP, pleads with Kalam for dismissal of Mulayam govt

NEW DELHI: The Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday looked more like a contest zone for rival political forces from Uttar Pradesh. While BSP chief Mayawati, with party MPs in tow, called on President APJ Abdul Kalam in the morning to seek dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh closely followed in the afternoon leading a delegation, this time to press for the recall of state governor TV Rajeswar.

And it was only on Sunday that a BJP team, led by the party’s deputy in the Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, had placed a demand with the President Kalam to impose President’s rule in the state after sacking the Mulayam Singh government. “Free and fair elections cannot be held in the state till Mr Yadav holds the reins of the government,” the delegation had argued.

The flurry of activity among the main political contenders in UP didn’t quite come as a surprise for observers. Still smarting under the snub handed out by the Supreme Court last year for its Bihar adventurism, the government is unlikely to entertain the demands of the BSP and the BJP and face the prospect of burning its fingers again.

Nor is Mr Rajeswar expected to be recalled, as demanded by the SP. Political experts view these manoeuvres by the main players essentially as attempts to earn brownie points in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

While the SP hopes to project itself as a victim of alleged Congress high-handedness, the BSP and the BJP are locked in a fight to grab the main Opposition space and project themselves as the SP’s enemy No 1. Speaking to reporters after meeting the President, Mr Singh said they had demanded the governor’s recall in “the interest of the state”.

“Mr Rajeswar has lost his credibility to continue in the honourable position of a governor, hence he should be called back immediately to protect the federal element in the country’s Constitution,” the SP general secretary charged.

The SP delegation comprised, among others, parliamentary party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and veteran film actresses Jaya Bachchan and Jayaprada. “The governor on several occasions has gone out of his way to criticise the state administration and leaders, and has converted the Raj Bhawan into a Congress headquarter in the state,” he added.

Ms Mayawati also had a go at the BJP. “The party is extending silent support to the ongoing anarchy in the state,” she claimed.