07-10-2008, 04:12 AM
<b>Trust vote onus is on President</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b> According to sources in the Congress, the President would seek legal opinion from constitutional experts after her meeting with the Prime Minister. There is the precedent of former President KR Narayanan asking then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to prove his numbers on the floor of the House. </b>
<b>The BJP has demanded that the Government should seek a trust vote immediately</b>. After a meeting of NDA, BJP's Sushma Swaraj said: "It is <b>imperative for a minority Government to seek the vote of confidence immediately and we demand that the UPA should seek it in about a week's time. They have lost their right to take important decisions."</b>
The Left Front also echoed the demand during its meeting with President Patil. The <b>Left parties even accused the Congress of "resorting to all possible means" to remain in power</b>, with the ruling UPA coalition claiming the support of the Samajwadi Party and several smaller groups to ensure the Government's stability. <b>"Knowing the Congress, it will do anything to remain in power. Let it try," </b>said CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.
However, <b>senior Congress leaders claimed that "technically" nothing much had changed for the UPA Government and there was no compulsion for the President to direct the Government to seek the trust vote.</b> They pointed out that when Dr Manmohan Singh formed the Government in 2004, the Samajwadi Party was supporting the UPA and had given a "letter of support". Left, though not a formal part of the UPA, was supporting it from outside. The SP was still supporting the UPA and only the Left had withdrawn support to the Government, the leaders added.
A senior Congress leader said: "The President has a list of all political parties and their respective strength. She would be well within her right to do simple mathematics and find that the Government still enjoys majority. There could be no requirement of a trust vote."
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<b>The BJP has demanded that the Government should seek a trust vote immediately</b>. After a meeting of NDA, BJP's Sushma Swaraj said: "It is <b>imperative for a minority Government to seek the vote of confidence immediately and we demand that the UPA should seek it in about a week's time. They have lost their right to take important decisions."</b>
The Left Front also echoed the demand during its meeting with President Patil. The <b>Left parties even accused the Congress of "resorting to all possible means" to remain in power</b>, with the ruling UPA coalition claiming the support of the Samajwadi Party and several smaller groups to ensure the Government's stability. <b>"Knowing the Congress, it will do anything to remain in power. Let it try," </b>said CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.
However, <b>senior Congress leaders claimed that "technically" nothing much had changed for the UPA Government and there was no compulsion for the President to direct the Government to seek the trust vote.</b> They pointed out that when Dr Manmohan Singh formed the Government in 2004, the Samajwadi Party was supporting the UPA and had given a "letter of support". Left, though not a formal part of the UPA, was supporting it from outside. The SP was still supporting the UPA and only the Left had withdrawn support to the Government, the leaders added.
A senior Congress leader said: "The President has a list of all political parties and their respective strength. She would be well within her right to do simple mathematics and find that the Government still enjoys majority. There could be no requirement of a trust vote."
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