Despite the UP government virtually hijacking the newly-constructed bridge in Rae Bareli,which the Union Ministry of Road Transport had funded,the Congress is trying to downplay the issue. Party sources said the AICC has told the UP Congress not to rake up a controversy. So,even as PWD Minister Naseemudin Siddiqui,who had inaugurated the bridge by remote in Lucknow on Wednesday,visited the spot and announced its naming as Dr Ambedkar Dalmau Ganga Setu,Congress state chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi condemned the state govenrments action,but added that there would be no state-wide protest. It is an issue which the the local Congress will deal with, said Joshi,who was accompanied by Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari. Joshi said that the bridge was a result of local MP Sonia Gandhis efforts and this fact would not change,whatever Chief Minister Mayawati might do. In Rae Bareli,Congress workers led by district Congress president Uma Shankar Mishra,Sonia Gandhis representative K L Sharma and Congress MLAs from Rae Bareli and Amethi were prevented by the police from going to Dalmau to hold a protest against Siddiquis visit. We were stopped on the way and detained for over three hours,said Akhilesh Pratap Singh,UPCC spokesperson. BSP sources said that by inaugurating the bridge,Mayawati wanted to send out a clear message among her Dalit supporters,who constitute the core of the BSP,that she is not afraid of taking on Sonia in her own constituency. Since the Lok Sabha elections,there have been signs of a section of Dalits tilting towards the Congress. Cong,SP take on UP govt NEW DELHI: Agitated over two different issues,the Congress and the Samajwadi Party mounted an attack on the Mayawati government in the Lok Sabha on Thursday,forcing Deputy Speaker Karia Munda to adjourn the House for 40 minutes. Congress members,a bulk of them from UP,created a ruckus over Union Minister of State for Road and Transport R P N Singh being prevented from going to Rae Bareli to inspect a bridge,ahead of a planned inauguration by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The SP members repeatedly came into the well to protest against a lathi-charge on a party rally at Bareilly. Both Congress and SP camps first made an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt Question Hour. While some half-a-dozen SP members trooped in to the well,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee checked a group of Congress MPs when they advanced towards the well. Munda brought the situation under control after 10 minutes with an assurance to the members that he would allow them to speak during Zero Hour. Congress leader Jagdambika Pal said the UP Government had committed a breach of privilege by stopping the minister at Munshiganj while he was proceeding towards the bridge. This,according to him,amounted to his arrest. BSP members,led by Dara Singh,tried to counter him,but without success. Pal said the matter concerned the House because Singh was a member and also a Central minister. Even otherwise,a citizen had the fundamental right to go anywhere. The Centre had already written to the state on February 17 that the bridge,built with Central funds,would be inaugurated by the UPA chairperson in the second week of March. Pal was supported by SP member Ghanshyam Anuragi. SP member Shailendra Kumar raised the issue of a police lathi-charge on a party rally,led by leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly Ahmad Hassan. "There is no law and order in UP," he said. Thereafter,SP members moved into the well prompting the Deputy Speaker to adjourned the House.
