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Vajpayee govt is on verge of collapse: Mulayam

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre was on the verge of collapse and can fall 'any time'.

Talking to the media in Bombay, he said the aim of the SP was to bring down the BJP government, as the party was based on communal ideology. ''However, we would not have to toil much, as the government is already facing problems from its allies,'' he said citing the example of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham leader Jayalalitha.

''The war of words between the BJP's coalition partners is on the rise... And the government can come down any time,'' the former defence minister said.

Asked what would be the strategy of the SP if the BJP government 'falls or toppled,' he said, ''Let the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government come down. The strategies would automatically come out.''

Turning to Uttar Pradesh, Yadav expressed his party's resolve to bring down the Kalyan Singh government. "I am ready to pull down Kalyan Singh's government any time."

"Even today, if some leader from the BJP rebels stakes his claim to form the government in UP, I am ready to support him as chief minister," Yadav said.

Yadav, who is in Bombay for the SP's two-day national convention beginning on Sunday, said, "The BJP governments in UP and at the Centre are following anti-people policies. All the alliance partners are only serving themselves, and no one is interested in serving the people."

The national convention, which is held once in two years, is being held in Bombay this time since the party has gained significantly in the last three years in Maharashtra. Though the party did not win a single seat in the recent parliamentary elections from the state, its candidate from Bombay south central, Sohail Lokhandwala, lost by only 153 votes against the Sena's Mohan Rawle.

Though both the Samajwadi and the Congress improved their position in the state through a tactical understanding in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Mulayam said it is still not clear whether they will go in for a seat adjustment with the Congress in the assembly elections two years hence.

Asked why he did not tie up with the Congress in UP while they had an agreement in Maharashtra, Yadav said, "They were demanding too many seats from Uttar Pradesh, which was not acceptable to my party."

Asked whether he considered the Congress party communal, Yadav said 'no'.

Commenting on Pakistan's Ghauri missile, he said, "India is capable of giving a fitting reply to Pakistan, no matter which missile they develop."

On the Srikrishna Commission's report on the Bombay riots, Mulayam said the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra was not tabling it obviously because their own leaders were involved in the riots.

Yadav also warned the alliance government in Maharashtra of dire consequences if it did not table the report in the ongoing state assembly session.

The SP will then be forced to launch a nation-wide campaign, Yadav said.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay with UNI

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