The biggest rebellion is of course in the ranks of the Samajwadi Party, whose support is crucial for survival of the government.
The party today held a meeting of its MPs in which only 16 of the 39 MPs turned up for the morning session. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav sought to play down the absence of MPs, saying 12 of the 39 Lok Sabha members of the party could not attend the meeting due to various reasons.
The party has issued a three-line whip asking its members to be present in the Lok Sabha on July 21 and 22 and vote in favour of the government. However, MPs Munnawar Hassan, Jai Prakash and Rajkumar Bhadoliya have openly decided to defy the party whip. The status of jailed MPs Ateeq Ahmad and Afzal Ansari is still undecided. Two other MPs
