SP may replace Trinamool Congress in UPA: Rita Bahuguna Joshi

Reacting on the media reports hinting towards replacement of Trinamool Congress (TMC) with Samajwadi Party in the Congress led-United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Congress Uttar Pradesh chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi on Sunday said the final decision on the issue would be taken by party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
 
“We thank Samajwadi Party that they have always given their support to the UPA. Earlier, they helped us in passing several significant bills in the Parliament and they are still supporting us. The statements made by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav are very balanced and point towards the stability of the government,” said Joshi.
 
“They have always supported the UPA and we still feel that we have cordial relations with them. This is a very high-level matter and it is an issue to be discussed by national leaders,” she added.
 
SP, at present has a strength of 22 members in the Lok Sabha, as against 19 of the West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee’s TMC.
 
She further added that her party would support SP in anything that they do for the development of the state and benefit of the people.
 
“It is very good that they are still extending their support, despite a sweeping majority in the Uttar Pradesh elections. This is a political decision. I do not want to comment on such matters. We just feel that whoever does good work; we will support them. The work that Samajwadi Party does for the benefit of the people in Uttar Pradesh, we will support them,” said Joshi.
 
She further said that even though the Congress and SP contested against each other, they do share similar views on issues of national importance.
 
“In a democracy, when the elections are held, they are fought on some principles. The central government is a coalition government for the last 15 years, so if there are some broad issues, they need to be brought to notice. So, it is not necessary that we have conflicting opinions with Samajwadi Party on every issue; we have similar views on several issues. So, it is not necessary that if we contest the elections against each other, then we will always stay rivals. There should not be enmity in a democracy,” said Joshi.
 
The Samajwadi Party secured a majority of 224 seats in the 403-member state assembly ousting Mayawati’s BSP government.
 
Both Congress and TMC went at loggerheads after TMC leader and Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi announced hike in passenger fares in his ministry’s budget for 2012-13 on February 14.
 
Trivedi, who refused rollback the hike saying it was necessary in order to develop the railways, aggravated his party chief Mamata Banerjee, who asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sack Trivedi, giving rise to speculations of instability in the alliance.