Taking the cue from Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday demanded a special package of Rs 18,230 crore for Uttar Pradesh from the Centre.

After a 30-minute meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi, he told reporters that he was confident the prime minister would 'not neglect Uttar Pradesh'.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of the United Progressive Alliance government granting a special Rs 3,225 crore package to Bihar, ruled by key UPA constituent Rashtriya Janata Dal, in the Union Budget 2004-05 ahead of the assembly elections in the state. Lalu Prasad Yadav is the chief of the RJD and his wife is the chief minister of the State.

"I have no problem over the central package to Bihar. If Bihar is given more, I will be happy. But I do not want Uttar Pradesh to be neglected," Yadav, who was accompanied by Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh at the meeting with the prime minister, said.

Budget 2004-05: The Complete Coverage