Nuclear Thread - 3

[acharya]

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UPA has support of 285 MPs: Narayanaswamy</b>

Madurai (PTI): Refuting criticisms of the CPI that the Congress was indulging in horsetrading to win the trust vote, Union Minister V. Narayanaswamy on Monday claimed the UPA government has the support of 285 MPs.

A minimum of 272 is required for a simple majority in the 543-strong Lok Sabha. Narayanswamy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said the Congress would issue a three-line whip to its MPs to be present in Parliament on July 22 to vote in favour of the government during the trust vote.

Simlarly, the allies would also issue whip to their respective MPs to be present in Parliament, he told reporters here.

He claimed that the Janata Dal(S), Akali Dal, National Conference, some independents and small parties were supporting the government. "We expect 290 members to support the government. But it will not be less than 285 MPs who will support the Government."

He said there was no need for the government to bargain when it was confident of winning the trust vote. It was the Left which was critical of communal forces and had joined hands with BJP to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal, he charged