New Delhi: Heeding to Opposition demand in the wake of developments in Uttar Pradesh, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on April 23 favoured convening a meeting of Chief Ministers to evolve a code of conduct for them.

"There should be no difficulty in convening such a meeting of Chief Ministers. I will be speaking to the Prime Minister in this regard…and some code of conduct is formulated," he said in a 40-minute reply to a debate on the working of Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha.

Advani was responding to members' reference to the slapping of a large number of criminal cases against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and other party leaders by the Mayawati government and also the Trinamool Congress charge that Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) cadres had prevented 4,000 of its candidates from filing nominations for the May 11 panchayat raj elections in West Bengal.

In this regard, he mentioned a recent telephonic conversation with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya.

"As Home Minister, I will like to promote federalism," he said without elaborating.

PTI