We felt insulted by the UF: Antony

"Party president Sitram Kesri had several rounds of talks with the United Front leaders and tried to correct the government, but the result was disappointing," says Congress Working Committee member and Kerala Opposition leader A K Antony.

Antony, who was informed of the Congress Working Committee's decision in Thirvanathapuram at 1330 hours on Sunday, endorsed his party's withdrawal of support to the H D Deve Gowda government, saying, "there was no meaning in continuing support to the UF as the purpose for which the Congress had extended its support remained defeated. The developments in Punjab have revealed that the UF failed to contain communal forces. The UF's 10 month tenure has weakened secular forces and it was under these circumstances that the party president decided to withdraw support."

In a brief conversation with Rediff On The NeT, Antony said the last CWC meeting had discussed the issue of continuing support to the government at length. Most CWC members, he added, felt the Front had a negative attitude towards the Congress. The Janata Dal and its partners, he claimed, were trying to weaken the Congress.

The Front leaders, Antony said, felt the Congress continued to support the government only because it was weak. Congressmen, he claimed, felt insulted, therefore the working committee authorised Kesri to decide on the party's future support to the government.

When this reported asked him about reservations expressed by Sharad Pawar, the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, Antony said in a party like the Congress there were bound to be differences of opinion, but he did not foresee the possibility of a split in the party.