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Mulayam predicts government's fall after poll

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav today predicted the fall of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre after the assembly elections in four states.

The former Union defence minister said, however, that the fall of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government would not lead to dissolution of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) and an alternative government would take over.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav said his party would organise an Uttar Pradesh bandh (general close-down) on November 9 to protest against the spiralling prices, killing of his party's workers "by the Uttar Pradesh police", and the Kalyan Singh government's decision to do away with reservations for the scheduled castes and tribes in filling up posts of professor in engineering colleges in the state.

He said the central government had failed to tackle both the internal and external problems of the country.

It had not only lost its credibility in the world but also destroyed the country's economy, he said.

Yadav said the prime minister and finance minister had assured the Lok Sabha that the government would not allow prices to rise, but had been able to do zilch to control inflation.

He said his party's workers are being killed by the police at the behest of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.

Yadav also accused the Kalyan Singh government of trying to do away with the Mandal Commission's recommendations in a systematic manner.

UNI

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