Congress: Maya decision no surprise; BJP says it’s inconsequential

The BSP’s decision to withdraw support to the UPA Government on Saturday did not elicit the kind of response it might have desired...

The BSP’s decision to withdraw support to the UPA Government on Saturday did not elicit the kind of response it might have desired from both the Congress and the BJP. While the Congress said the development was not a surprise, the BJP termed it “inconsequential”.

Asserting that the Government still enjoyed majority, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said the reasons cited by UP Chief Minister Mayawati for her decision were “not sustainable”. She had “no justification” to say the UPA had not done enough to control inflation. Her Government had not taken action against hoarders,

black marketers and profiteers as suggested by the Centre, Singh told reporters here.

Asked whether her decision would upset the Government’s calculations on the nuclear deal, Singh said, “She has not taken back her party’s support over the deal.”

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The saffron party, meanwhile, said any move to rope in Mayawati’s party to its fold was not even in “remotest” consideration. “The withdrawal of support to the UPA Government by BSP is inconsequential for BJP and any efforts to seek alliance from it is not even in remotest consideration,” party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy told PTI.

The BJP had earlier in the day said Mayawati’s move marked the “beginning of the end” of the Manmohan Singh Government at the Centre.

In Lucknow, SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav said a meeting of United National Progressive Alliance would be held in Delhi soon to discuss the present political scenario.