Mulayam Singh meets PM

Against the backdrop of his party's opposition to the Food Security Ordinance, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday (July 11) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Yadav, whose party is extending outside support to UPA, was at Prime Minister's residence for nearly half-an-hour and left just before the Cabinet meeting was to begin.

When asked about the purpose of his visit, he merely said that he had come for a cup of tea.

Last week, Yadav had attacked Congress over the Food Security Ordinance, accusing it of indulging in vote bank politics and said its intentions were not good.

With Lok Sabha elections nearing, Congress is bringing the ordinance like it had brought rural employment scheme MNREGA before the previous polls, he had said. "The ordinance has been brought keeping in mind Lok Sabha polls...The intentions of Congress are not good and my party would look into it and see that interest of farmers is not harmed. Congress is only doing vote politics...," Yadav had said.

"Over five lakh people died, mostly in Maharashtra, due to starvation...Why the government did not distribute food
grains to them then...The condition of Congress is not good in the entire country and the ordinance is a mere propaganda," he had alleged.