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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that the outcome of the assembly election in the country's most populous state would have international ramifications.
"This election will have bearing not only on the national scene, but also have international ramifications," he told a press conference in Lucknow.
"This is the home state of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, (and) any major political development is bound to reflect on his leadership of the nation," he said.
The chief minister attributed the same reason for his oft-repeated stance that Pakistan would celebrate a Bharatiya Janata Party debacle in UP. "Pakistan would be the happiest to see the BJP out of UP, and I would not be surprised if that country is even funding some political party for that purpose," he charged.
Asked what purpose would it serve for Pakistan, he said, "Well, that would give (President) Pervez Musharraf a chance to tell the world that the Indian prime minister is losing mandate in his home state."
Without naming the Samajwadi Party, he said, "The blatant manner in which money was flowing in the election campaign of a key opposition party aroused suspicion about its source. The party was opposed to our ban on organisations like the Students Islamic Movement of India, which has a nexus with (Pakistan's) Inter-Services Intelligence... what they are up to is anybody's guess."
"The attitude of that opposition party also reflects its lack of will to fight the serious menace of terrorism," the chief minister added.
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