By IANS,
New Delhi : Alleging that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government, which is facing the threat of withdrawal of support from its Left allies, has lost its majority, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Saturday demanded that parliament be convened immediately for a vote of confidence.
“Even though normally the house is to meet sometime in August, in view of the present situation, my party demands that a session of parliament be immediately convened and Manmohan Singh seek the confidence of the house and move a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha,” Advani said at a press conference at the party headquarters here.
Advani, who is also the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s prime ministerial candidate, accused the Congress-led administration of having reduced governance to a “theatre of the absurd”.
“I have never seen a government like this. It has made a joke of itself,” he said.
Advani also took on the government over rising inflation, calling it a “breach of confidence with the people”.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left parties, which prop up the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, have announced that they would withdraw their support if the government went ahead with the India-US civil nuclear deal.
Apparently determined to take the deal ahead, the Congress has sought the support of its one-time rival, the Samajwadi Party, which has indicated it would back the government.
A.B. Bardhan, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), has said in a television interview that the Left would vote against the government if there is a trust vote in the Lok Sabha.
After the Samajwadi Party’s decision to back the government, there was more trouble in the United National Progressive Alliance as well Saturday. The Samajwadi Party’s partners criticised it for promising support to the ruling UPA combine.
Om Prakash Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal – a UNPA constituent – said Saturday that his party was against the nuclear deal, and would vote accordingly in case there was any confidence vote.