Maya rushes aide to jailed party MP

With every vote acquiring importance in the July 22 trial of strength for the United Progressive Alliance government in the Lok Sabha, an aide of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati air-dashed to a jail in Farrukhabad on Monday to meet party member of Parliament, Umakant Yadav.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader and Public Works Department Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui went to the jail by helicopter and remained closetted with Yadav, the MP from Machchlishahr, for about half an hour.

Replying to queries on the urgency to meet the MP who was arrested while he was on his way to meet Mayawati at her official residence in Lucknow, Siddiqui said since Yadav was a party MP he had come to meet him.

To questions whether he had come over to appeal to Yadav to vote against the UPA government during the trust vote by following the party line, an agitated Siddiqui retorted, "Were you there during the meeting....do you know everything?"

Mayawati had often cited that the arrest of Yadav as an indication of her government's seriousness towards dealing with history-sheeters.

There was speculation that Yadav may vote for Congress in the confidence vote.