Mulayam threatens to review support if quota bill is passed

Terming the proposed legislation on SC/ST quota in promotion as anti-national, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today said his party would review its stand on supporting the UPA government from outside, if the Bill is passed.

"If voting is done on the Bill in the House, I will reconsider my party's support to the government.... We will review party's outside support to the government," he told reporters here.

"The bill is anti-national and will divide the people. My party has opposed the bill inside and outside the House and will continue its opposition," Yadav said.

He said it was unfortunate that his party members who were opposing the "anti-people" bill were thrown out of the House.

Yadav said that he had asked the Prime Minister why he was not "bringing out the facts about the posts that will be captured by people" due to reservation in promotion.

"For just 22 per cent people, rest of the population including general candidates, backward castes and other communities will suffer immensely creating problem in society," he warned.

Yadav claimed that if the bill was passed "then no Prime Minister will get a cabinet secretary nor any chief minister will get chief secretary of any other caste".

The UPA has just over 250 MPs in the Lok Sabha after the TMC withdrew support from the government. The UPA is provided crucial support from outside by 21 MPs of the Samajwadi Party and 22 MPs of Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, which is batting for the quota bill.

In reply to a question on alleged misuse of CBI, Yadav said it was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government during which allegations of misuse of the probe agency surfaced.

He said that "some former CBI chiefs have also spoken about its misuse".

Regarding Pakistan's secretary Rahman Malik's comments that Indian government has not given concerete evidence against Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed due to which he was let off three times, Yadav said that it is for the central government to give such evidence.