"Samajwadi Party requests the Prime Minister that he should remain firm on the ordinance that the government has brought. It should remain firm on it as it was brought after due consideration. This message should not go in the country that it was withdrawn under the pressure of one individual," the party's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agrawal said.
SP, which supports the UPA government from outside, had backed the government's move to bring the measure and has been critical of any bid to withdraw it ever since Rahul Gandhi slammed as "complete nonsense".
He also rued that after Gandhi's attack on the ordinance, the Prime Minister's stature stands undermined.
UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that the manner in which the ordinance was brought and is now being "withdrawn hurriedly", shows that "the decision is being taken keeping elections in mind".