Congress may be ready to do business with BSP in UP

NEW DELHI: Congress appears to be in no mood to have any truck with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh in view of Muzaffarnagar riots but may not be averse to doing business with BSP.

"There is no question of having any tieup with Samajwadi Party. We will have nothing to do with that party following the Muzaffarnagar violence", a senior party leader, who declined to be identified, said.

The leader also said the UPA government will not be affected even if SP, a key outside supporter, withdraws support.

Congress and SP had held marathon seat-sharing talks ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections but failed to strike a deal.

Asked whether there can be a tieup with BSP in UP, he said that it might be.

The remarks of the Congress leader came on a day when SP sought to distance itself from the Congress-led central government.

Reports had it that 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.

His statement is being seen as an indication that the top leadership of SP is now looking for an opporetune time or reason to snap its 9-year old ties with UPA.

The opposition has often accused SP of supporting UPA as a quid pro quo to bury the dissproportinate assets case against Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav. CBI has closed the case and giving a clean chit to the Yadavs.