Ajit Singh makes up mind: he'll nuke Govt

JMM IN, RLD OUT: Shibu Soren and Ajit Singh give Government hope and shock.

          

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Keywords: Left, Upa

New Delhi: Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh on Sunday announced his three MPs would vote against the Government in the July 22 floor test in Parliament.

"RLD will vote against the Government in the confidence motion," said Singh after a meeting of his party MPs, who were against supporting a Congress-led Government backed by the Samajwadi Party.

"Congress is run by Amar Singh. We discussed the issue and our MPs are not in favour of supporting the Congress because the SP is with them," he said. "We also discussed the performance of the Government in the last four years as also the nuclear deal".

Singh announced his decision after meeting BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in Delhi. "The meeting with Mayawati was positive," said Singh.

The RLD chief said the nuclear energy is not a viable option. "Only two per cent of the energy needs are met from nuclear sources and if the deal is implemented we can meet only five per cent of the needs by 2030.

"Energy from Ethanol is cheaper than this, even solar and wind energy are competitive. I have been all along against the nuclear deal," he said.

PTI reports the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) will not issue a whip, but its two MPs will vote against the UPA Government.

The bit of good news for the Government was that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren announced that his five MPs would vote for the Government on July 22. CNN-IBN learns Soren has bargained for the Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister’s post for his son, a Union Cabinet birth for himself and a junior minister’s post for one of his MPs in the UPA Government.

Asaduddin Owaisi, the lone MP of Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen, would vote in favour of the Government. "Our basic aim is to stop the BJP from coming to power," Asaduddin Owaisi told PTI on Sunday. MIM is a constituent of the UPA but Owaisi had been holding his cards close to his chest.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who has two MPs, told CNN-IBN he had made his mind about whom to vote for but would not go public now. “I am not into making deals and striking bargains. You will know when I will speak in Parliament in the debate,” he told CNN-IBN.