Wednesday, March 2 2005 21:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Aligarh: Harried by the continued political deadlock in Bihar, the Congress today (March 2, 2005) said imposition of President's rule "is only the last resort" when all Constitutional alternatives have been tried.

There appeared to be "very little possibility" of an early solution to the Bihar crisis, Union Human Resource Development Minister and senior Congress leader Arjun Singh told reporters in Aligarh.

He said the Congress was not "enthusiastic" about President's rule in the State as it was not a "very desirable thing" in any democracy.

"For us, President's rule is only the last resort when all Constitutional alternatives have ended," Singh said.

When asked about the failure of the poor showing of the Congress in Bihar, Singh said the issue required an in-depth analysis.

He said the one positive feature about the election results in Bihar was that it overwhelmingly voted for secular parties and rejected the "communal parties". The "low number of seats won by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)" reflected this, he added.