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RJP MP to vote for Vajpayee

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government was today assured of another vote when Anand Mohan, the lone Rashtriya Janata Party member of Parliament, announced his support for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Addressing a press conference along with his wife Lovely Anand, an MLA from Bihar, Anand Mohan said, ''We are for the confidence motion because if Mr Vajpayee goes, Mrs Sonia Gandhi comes and that will be very dangerous for the country."

''A foreign national (videshi mahila) cannot be accepted as the prime minister. If I had to choose between Mr Vajpayee and Mrs Sonia Gandhi, I would choose Mr Vajpayee a thousand times,'' the Bihar MP said, adding that ''even Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi is acceptable to the country, but not Mrs Sonia Gandhi.''

''A woman who did not accept Indian nationality for more than 16 years after marriage cannot be accepted as the country's prime minister,'' he said, adding that he suspected a ''foreign conspiracy'' behind her entry into active politics.

He charged the Congress president of working against the people of Bihar during the vote for proclamation of President's Rule in the state.

Asked about the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha, of which his RJP was a unit, Anand Mohan said the RLM had become an ''all Yadav federation and there is no place for any other person.''

He claimed that another five MPs were with him and would support the Vajpayee government during the vote of confidence.

Asked if his support to the Vajpayee government was 'temporary or permanent', Anand Mohan said if the government starts taking steps against the public interest then the support cannot be taken for granted.

Ironically, the RJP's national leader is Shankarsinh Vaghela who broke away from the BJP two years ago. Vaghela had claimed Anand Mohan would toe the RLM line and oppose the government.

UNI

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