By IANS,
New Delhi : The Samajwadi Party said Friday that it will not contest from the Rae Bareli and Amethi Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh whether or not it forms an electoral alliance with the Congress.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh made the announcement here. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary and her son Rahul Gandhi represent the two seats in the Lok Sabha.
Amar Singh, however, made it clear that his party would not compromise on three seats in Uttar Pradesh including Rampur and Farukhabad.
He said the Samajwadi Party was ready to give up Dharora seat for Congress MP Jitin Prasada, who represents Shahjahanpur, which has been declared a reserved seat. The Samajwadi Party wants to contest from Shahjahanpur.
Amar Singh also insisted that he was opposed to Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s view that the Congress and Samajwadi Party should have “friendly contests” in the coming Lok Sabha battle.
The Samajwadi Party has sought an electoral tie up with the Congress in states other than Uttar Pradesh.
On the India-US nuclear deal, Amar Singh said his party would rather go by what had been stated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
“Kalam told us that India does not need to have an inferiority complex over nuclear testing. India is already an established nuclear state and we do not need any more tests,” Amar Singh quoted him as saying.
“It is better to have faith in our prime minister than outside information,” he added, referring to US media reports that have sparked a fresh row over the nuclear deal.
“Manmohan Singh has promised that he is not going to compromise on country’s interests and dignity and we have faith in him,” Amar Singh said.