New Delhi: Atiq Ahmed, slain gangster-cum-politician, didn’t “save” the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government during the 2008 trust vote as claimed in a book, Baahubalis of Indian Politics: From Bullet to Ballot, authored by Rajesh Singh.
It was extensively quoted in media reports after Atiq and his brother were shot down by three assailants in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Saturday.
Lok Sabha records show that Ahmed, then a Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Phulpur, had voted against the confidence motion, defying his party whip. He was even expelled from the SP along with five other MPs for going against the party’s directions.
The other expelled MPs were Afzal Ansari, Rajnarayan Budholiya, Jai Prakash, S.P. Singh Baghel and Munawwar Hassan.
Singh’s book wrongly claimed that Atiq Ahmed had “saved” the UPA government. “The government furloughed six of the nation’s most prominent suspected lawbreakers — collectively facing over 100 cases of kidnapping, murder, extortion, arson and more — so that they could fulfil their constitutional duties as lawmakers. One among them was Atiq Ahmed….” said the book published by Rupa Publications.
“Atiq Ahmed… dutifully cast his precious vote, no doubt in favour of the beleaguered UPA. The don had, by then, established himself in both politics and crime,” it added.
According to Lok Sabha records, Ahmed voted against the UPA along with 255 other opposition MPs. The UPA won the confidence vote by 19 votes. It received 275 votes as compared to the opposition’s 256, with 10 members abstaining from voting.
What happened in 2008
On 22 July, 2008, the ruling UPA coalition government held a dramatic trust vote in the Lok Sabha after the Left Front, with 60 MPs, withdrew support to it following the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The US and India had signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2006 following a July 2005 summit in the US attended by PM Manmohan Singh.
When the government announced plans to meet the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Left Front, which had been opposing the nuclear deal citing national interests, withdrew support to it.
On the Lok Sabha website, Ahmed features on the list of those who voted against the confidence motion.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also read: Why police think Atiq Ahmed went after Umesh Pal — ‘backstabbing’, property rivalry, court cases