Congress rules out dismissal of UP government

In an apparent attempt to reach out to parties, Congress today ruled out dismissing Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, a demand set by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for his party's support for government formation at the Centre.      

"There is no question of dismissing a duly elected state government," AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here when asked whether Congress party was in favour of dismissing the Mayawati government in UP.      

"How is it possible? It is not constitutionally possible," he said in reply to further questions on the issue.      

Asked whether BSP is communal, he said the Congress considered only BJP and Shiv Sena as communal parties.      

To a question whether Mayawati is an option for Congress, Singh merely said "I have always said politics is the art of possible."      

On former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy meeting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last night, he said, "it is an indication of the direction in which the political wind is blowing."      

Questioned about Congress efforts to reach out to allies, he said "we are firmly aligned with our UPA allies" and all talk of future alliances would take place after May 16 when the election results are declared.      

Singh claimed that the Congress party would emerge as the single largest party after the polls and perform better than it did in the 2004 elections.