SP to boycott Vajpayee's swearing-in
The Samajwadi Party will boycott the
swearing-in ceremony of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
government on March 19.
SP general secretary Amar Singh said today that his party was
of the view that the BJP had no faith in the Constitution of India,
and hence the SP did not want to be witness to the "false oath on
the Constitution".
Substantiating his charge, Singh told newspersons that the BJP had
flouted the high norms of constitutional propriety time and again.
The demolition of the Babri Masjid was a testimony to this fact, he
pointed out.
The BJP had "thrived" on instigating the religious sentiments of
the people, and its agenda was always fixed by the "fascist"
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the Samjawadi Party
leader alleged.
Amar Singh expressed the hope of winning over Telugu Desam
Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu in an endeavour to defeat the BJP
government when it seeks a vote of confidence on the floor of the
Lok Sabha.
The Samajwadi Party was already exerting ''friendly pressure'' on
Naidu, and the secular forces should have reason to be hopeful in
this regard, he added.
When asked about the possible expulsion of the TDP from the United Front, the
SP general secrretry said Naidu had not announced
clearly that his party would help the BJP. ''What Naidu has said was
about maintaining equidistance from the BJP and Congress,'' he
clarified. ''We will not say anything on this issue till the floor
test is held.''
To another question, Singh asked, ''Why single out
Chandrababu Naidu for jeopardising the prospects of secular forces
while leaders like Om Parkash Chautala, Buta Singh and
members of the Arunachal Congress have announced their support to the BJP?''
Singh described the TDP leaders as being ''jittery'' due to
local issues in their state, but added,
''Maybe their inner conscience will be awakened during the vote
of confidence.''
Squarely blaming the BJP for adopting unfair means in its efforts
to grab power, the Samajwadi Party leader claimed the BJP was now
folowing the same corrupt practices as were tried in Uttar Pradesh
by Kalyan Singh.
UNI
Elections '98
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