No mid-term poll, UPA govt will complete its term: Jayanthi

[1]

Ruling out a mid-term poll in the wake of Congress' setback in the recent assembly polls, Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Thursday said the Manmohan Singh-led government will complete its term and asked opposition parties not to nurture hopes of destabilising it.

"There is no question of a mid-term poll. The Union government will last its full term," she told reporters here.

Asserting that Congress had 'very good relationship' with its allies, the Environment Minister said party president Sonia Gandhi had said engagement should be continued with them (allies). With opposition parties being elected to power in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, she said they should concentrate on good governance in their states.

"Those who got elected in various states should not hope to de-stabilise the Centre," she said.

She said the party had done well in elections in two states, referring to Uttarakhand and Manipur.

On the Women's Reservation Bill which is yet to be passed in the Lok Sabha, Natarajan said "We would strain every nerve to pass it during this session."