CBI case over; Samajwadi Party looking to snap ties with Congress

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party has sought to distance itself from the Congress-led central government on Sunday. Senior SP MP Naresh Agarwal has appealed to his party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to snap ties with the UPA government. Agarwal is considered a party heavyweight and is usually the first to voice SP’s stand on important issues and policies.

He is often regarded as the leader who speaks what is playing on the minds of Mulayam. His statement is being seen as an indication that the top leadership of the SP is now looking for a moment or reason to snap its 9-year old ties with the UPA. Speaking at a minority convention in Hardoi, Agarwal said people are now desperate for change. He said though Mulayam has already distanced himself from the UPA for quite some time, it is time for the party to send out a clear message that they are not associated with the UPA any more.

“There should be no confusion that we are aligned with the UPA. We must send out a clear message by snapping all ties with it”. The SP with 22 MP’s lends outside support to the UPA.

The opposition has often accused the SP of supporting the UPA as a quid pro quo to bury the dissproportinate assets case against Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav. With the CBI finally closing the case and giving a clean chit to the Yadavs, the SP does not want to be saddled with the anti-incumbency of the UPA-I and II governments.