Congress issues whip to MPs to vote against UF govt

The Congress has issued a whip to its MPs to vote against the Deve Gowda government during the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday. This followed the failure of Thursday morning's talks with the United Front on the leadership issue.

The second round of talks between the United Front and the Congress failed to make any headway as both sides stuck to their respective stands.

Soon after the talks, leaders of both sides rushed to their respective HQs to ''convey proposals'' put forth during the hour-long meeting at senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar's home in Delhi.

Front convenor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu told waiting journalists that many proposals had cropped up during the talks, most prominently a change in the UF leadership.

The Front was, however, clearly not ready for a change of leadership of the government. Asked Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav, who replaced Sharad Yadav at Thursday's meeting, ''How could we compromise on Mr Deve Gowda?''

The UF leaders rushed to Deve Gowda's home for talks before working out a final strategy for Friday, the day the government seeks a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress team -- A K Antony, Pawar, J B Patnaik, Jitendra Prasada, and Madhavrao Scindia -- met after the meeting before conveying the outcome of the talks to Congress president Sitaram Kesri. ''We are still hopeful about a solution,'' Scindia said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary party has authorised former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to take the final decision on the BJP's position on the confidence vote.

Vajpayee said the executive committee of the BJP's parliamentary wing will meet in his office on Friday morning to chalk out the strategy to be adopted for the confidence vote.

Leaders of the BJP's allies -- the Akali Dal, the Haryana Vikas Party, the Samata Party and the Shiv Sena --will attend the meeting.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met former prime minister Chandra Shekhar on Thursday morning and is understood to have discussed the political situation. Badal, who was accompanied by former chief minister Surjit Singh Barnala, deliberated on the various ways to avoid a snap poll and the possibility of the forming of a national government in Delhi.

Later, both leaders visited the Apollo hospital to meet former prime minister V P Singh where they are reported to have discussed the same subject.

Last evening, the Akalis met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at Tamil Nadu house