Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance, who met at the residence of L K Advani on Wednesday to discuss the current political situation following the Left Front's withdrawal of support from the United Progressive Alliance, demanded that an emergency session of Parliament should be convened within a week and the UPA government should seek a vote of confidence.
Besides Advani, other participants in the meeting included Sushma Swaraj, party president Rajnath Singh, Jaswant Singh, S S Ahluwalia, Arun Jaitley, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav, Brij Kishore Thripathi and B K Panda.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Swaraj said that there was unanimity amongst the participants and they would all vote against the nuclear deal. All the NDA allies wanted an emergency session of the Parliament to be convened.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that if a special session of the Parliament is not convened immediately, NDA leaders would meet President Pratibha Patil and impress upon her to direct the prime minister to call a special session of the Lok Sabha to prove his majority.
He informed the newsmen that NDA leaders are trying to woo regional parties. He did not rule out the possibility of floor management in case the Left Front approaches the BJP.
S S Dhindsa from the Shromani Akali Dal said that his party had called a meeting of its core group on July 15 and it would be presided by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
"A final decision would be taken at this meeting. We expect the minority government to prove its majority in the House," Dhindsa told rediff.com.
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