Confident of a majority after merger of the breakaway group of the Congress and the Rashtriya Parivartan Dal with her party, UP Chief Minister Mayawati today asked Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri to convene Assembly session on February 28. But her worries are far from over with the SP set to bring a no-confidence motion against Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi. So she issued a two-page statement today praising Tripathi and justifying recognition of the Congress breakaway group — the Akhil Bharatiya Congress Dal — by him. Tripathi had only abided by the democratic traditions and rules while recognising the ABCD and later its merger with the BSP, she said. UP BJP leaders to meet national leaders today LUCKNOW: A day before the ‘‘panchayat’’ between the BJP and BSP leaders in New Delhi on Saturday, the state BJP leaders will meet senior leaders of the party on Friday to ‘‘open their hearts out’’ on what forced them to air their views on POTA and cultural nationalism quoting Ambedkar. ‘‘We will explain everything . But will not speak a word to the media,’’ BJP leader Kalraj Mishra said. (Agencies) Interestingly, way back in 1996 Mayawati had accused Tripathi for functioning in a partisan manner when he had recognised the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party floated by the MLAs who had defected from her party. Today describing the SP no-confidence notice as unfortunate and malicious, the CM said now that the SP was resorting to all sorts of tricks to keep its flock together now that it had failed to dislodge her government. ‘‘The party knows well that the no-trust vote will not be passed in the House ,’’ she added. Mayawati said Tripathi was impartial in his dealings. ‘‘He has been conducting the business of the House smoothly despite non-cooperation of the SP legislators,’’ she alleged.
