Congress leaders meet Mulayam Singh for support to Food Bill

NEW DELHI: Congress today reached out to Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for his support for passage of the Food Security Bill which is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow coinciding with the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

Food Minister K V Thomas, along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's Political Secretary Ahmed Patel met Yadav in the evening, close on the heels of a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the strategy ahead for the food bill.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav was also present during the meeting after which the SP Chief Whip Shailendra Kumar said a meeting of the SP parliamentary party will be held tomorrow morning to take a view of the Food Bill.

SP is a key outside supporter of Congress-led UPA government. Earlier this month, Mulayam had said his party was ready to support the bill if the government promises to protect the interests of farmers and ensures they get profit for their produce.

BSP, which is another outside supporter, has also backed the bill but its chief Mayawati was critical of bringing an ordinance to bring it into effect.