Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Even as a key ally, the DMK, gave a major jolt to the Congress party on Tuesday by withdrawing support from the UPA, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party said that they would continue to give outside support to the government at the Centre.
The Congress is on the backfoot in the Lok Sabha after the withdrawal of Karunanidhi’s party over the contentious issue of UNHRC vote against Sri Lanka. The DMK has 18 MPs in the Lower House with five of its members being ministers.
However, in what can be said to be lifeline to the survival of the Congress-led UPA government, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have said that they will continue to support the government from outside. But both said that they will not join the government.
Slamming DMK`s decision to withdraw support, the SP said that it was only to ‘blackmail’ the government on the Sri Lankan issue, and asserted the present dispensation was stable.
“No one has pulled out, this is only to blackmail the government. It is stable,” senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters outside Parliament. “There is no point in calculating numbers as the DMK has not given any letter to the President withdrawing their support from the Centre,” he added.
He also said, “We will continue to give support to the UPA government from outside but we will not join the government.”
On her part, BSP chief Mayawati too said that there was no question of withdrawing support from the UPA. "We will continue to support the government from outside. We want to keep the communal forces at bay."
Earlier today the DMK chief M Karunanidhi announced his decision to withdraw support from the government on the Sri Lanka Tamils issue. Government, though, has sought to molify Karunanidhi, saying his “statement deserves all respect” and consultations have been started with political parties on DMK`s demand that Parliament should adopt a resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
With PTI inputs
