NEW DELHI, May 27: The Centre and the BJP-BSP government in Uttar Pradesh appeared to be on a collision course today with no response from State authorities to the charge of partisan governance even as BJP leader A B Vajpayee asked the Centre to keep its hands off the state.

Following allegations by the Samajwadi Party (SP) of atrocities against its workers and leaders and the threat by party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to pull out of the United Front if no remedial measures were taken, the Centre shot off a missive to the State Government.

In a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta reportedly said that she should ensure that her government worked ``in a manner which is non-partisan and impartial''.

Expressing serious concern over allegations of harassment and frame-up of SP workers, Gupta said, ``If even a part of these (allegations) is true, it will show the State Government in poor light. It will also reflect on the governance by your government''.

Gupta regretted that Uttar Pradesh had unfortunately become a hotbed of caste politics, communal violence and criminalisation of various facets of its social and political life during the last few years, including the period of Governor's rule.

Meanwhile in a statement, Vajpayee said the Home Minister's letter ``taking serious note of the law and order situation'' indicated that ``mischief is afoot at the Centre''.

He said it appeared from the Home Minister's letter that in order to keep the United Front intact, the Government was willing to go to any extent even preventing the duly elected Government from acting against criminals who had had a free run of the state during President's rule. He ``warned'' the Union Government to ``keep its hands off Uttar Pradesh'' and criticised the Government for acting in a ``blatantly partisan manner at the behest of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav''.

``No less reprehensible is the Home Minister's directive to his deputy, Mohammed Maqbool Dar, to look into the specific cases of 26 Samajwadi Party workers booked under the National Security Act. This amounts to the Centre interfering in the working of a State Government and indulging in blatant arm-twisting for the explicit purpose of appeasing Mulayam Singh Yadav,'' Vajpayee said in his statement.

Vajpayee said that perhaps the Home Minister needed reminding that ``the Centre had turned a blind eye towards the loot, murder and mayhem unleashed by Mulayam Singh's men in Uttar Pradesh during President's rule''. The Centre also continues to ignore the `jungle rule' that exists in Bihar where the Janata Dal is in power, he added. ``His (Gupta's) missive would have served an honourable purpose had the warning letter been despatched to Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.'' Vajpayee said such a measure ``cannot be expected'' from the UF Government whose leaders were ``too scared'' to even broach the subject of Bihar in steering committee meeting.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.