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TDP backs Bihar motion, bails out Vajpayee

Ending a week of suspense, the Telugu Desam Party, with 12 members in the Lok Sabha, today announced its decision to support the imposition of President's rule in Bihar, paving the way for passage of the motion in the Lok Sabha to ratify the measure.

The TDP's decision was announced minutes before voting was scheduled to take place in the Lower House.

TDP parliamentary party leader K Yerran Naidu said they were supporting the measure in "extraordinary circumstances" to ward off the Congress's move to destabilise the central government.

The TDP had declined to reveal its stand on the motion for the last one week even though Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and top Bharatiya Janata Party politicians were in touch with party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu to try and persuade him to vote for the motion.

Earlier, there were indications that the party might abstain from voting. But with the Congress deciding to vote against the motion, the TDP decided to cast its lot with the government.

UNI

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