Defying SP whip, Atiq Ahmed had voted against UPA govt in 2008 trust vote

As the Manmohan Singh government battled for survival in 2008 over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the then Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed defied his party whip and voted against the confidence motion which the ruling UPA coalition had eventually won, according to Lok Sabha records.

On Sunday, a PTI report quoted from a book -- Baahubalis of Indian Politics: From Bullet to Ballot -- which claimed that Ahmed "dutifully cast his precious vote, no doubt in favour of the beleaguered UPA".

The claim, however, is erroneous, according to the Parliament records.

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The records available on the Lok Sabha website say that on July 22, 2008, the House took up "Further discussion on the motion of confidence in the Council of Ministers moved by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

"That this House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers."

The government won the trust vote 275-256.

Atiq Ahmed's name figures in the list of those who voted against the motion (Noes).

Ahmed, a gangster-turned-politician, was shot dead on Saturday night in dramatic circumstances during a media scrum while being escorted by police in Prayagraj.

Ahmed was among the six SP MPs expelled from the party for defying the whip.

However, the book, authored by Rajesh Singh and published by Rupa Publications, makes no mention of this.