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Akali Dal issues whip on supporting President's rule

The Shiromani Akali Dal today issued a whip to its eight MPs in the Lok Sabha to be present and vote in favour of the government sponsored resolution for ratification of President's rule in Bihar.

The whip, issued by party president Parkash Singh Badal, said the Congress had hatched a ''conspiracy'' to destabilise the Vajpayee government by opposing its pro-people initiatives. Against such designs, the party had decided to vote and support government moves, particularly over the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government which had failed to protect the dalits and downtrodden in the state.

''Keeping this in view the party has decided to support the government's resolution for ratification of President's rule in Bihar''.

''You are directed to present yourself in the house when the resolution comes for voting and vote in its support'', Badal said in the whip.

Badal, however, said the party had to take this stand in an ''extraordinary situation'', otherwise ''we adhere to our principle stand of opposing the misuse of the Article 356''. The Dal has been pressing for scrapping of this Article for long, he added.

Last evening Badal had said his party would not support imposition of President's rule in Bihar as it was against the dismissal of a state government by slapping Article 356.

SGPC president G S Tohra's and Akali Dal's whip in the Lok Sabha, Prem Singh Chandumajra, had also announced last evening, that they would oppose the ratification of President's rule in Bihar in Parliament. What is their present stand was not immediately known.

UNI

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