Mulayam hints at withdrawing support to UPA

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said here Monday he will deliberate on supporting the UPA government when the time comes, even as the Congress rejected his charge that CBI was used to influence its decision on FDI in retail and the jobs quota bill.

"The party will think over the issue (on supporting UPA) at an appropriate time," Yadav told reporters. The SP supports the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from outside.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also accused the government of entrapping him through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"The government has entrapped me through the CBI," he said adding: "I am not afraid of the CBI."

"There is no question of any influence. There is no proof of it," Congress spokesperson P.C. Chacko told reporters.

"The SP and the BSP took their positions on FDI on their own. I don't think a leader of Mulayam Singh Yadav's stature would be afraid of CBI," Chacko said.

Mulayam's subtle hint came on the day his party demanded proportionate reservation for Muslims through a constitutional amendment in an apparent move to counter the push for quota in promotion for the Schedule Castes (SCs) and the Schedule Tribes (STs) in government jobs.

SP's Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav raised the issue during Zero Hour.

"When a quota in promotion (for SC/ST) can be given by amending the constitution, then why Muslims should not be given reservation in proportion to their population through a constitution amendment bill," Yadav asked.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and RJD members supported him.

The SP's move is timed with the controversial quota bill (The Constitution 117th Amendment Bill, 2012) which was taken up in the house Friday under apparent pressure from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and was listed for consideration and passage Monday.

Both SP and BSP had helped the ruling UPA in the FDI vote in parliament. - IANS