UP govt to go ahead with floor test

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday endorsed its decision to summon the Vidhan Sabha on January 15 to seek a trust vote.

At its emergency meeting lasting barely five minutes on Wednesday evening, the Cabinet stuck to its last night's decision to rescind its earlier recommendation to prorogue the Assembly.

The development came after the Governor prorogued the state Assembly negating Cabinet's earlier decision to convene a special session on January 15.

"We believe in democracy. The proposal to re-convene the House has already been sent," Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said in a press conference in Lucknow.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Khan said the meeting also discussed the strategy to be adopted on January 15 and the Transport Minister Naresh Agarwal said the government would prove its majority on the floor of the House on that day.

Unfazed by ally RLD pulling out its ministers, the Chief Minister expressed confidence that he would prove his government's majority.

Shortly afterwards, the Governor accepted the Cabinet's January 3 decision to prorogue the House.

On Tuesday night, Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey announced the decision to convene the House on January 15 after the Cabinet authorised Yadav to take whatever decision he deemed fit to tackle the emerging political situation.