United Russia member Igor Barinov said his colleagues are withdrawing their signatures because "the faction failed to work out a single approach to the document."
The draft law, introduced in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, January 17 by deputies from United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Rodina faction, aroused heated disputes.
The bill, which in particular envisioned a ban on public events two weeks before and after elections, lacked support even inside the Duma, so the authors withdrew it January 19 and re-introduced it in an amended form Monday.
The disputed provision was removed, but the draft law proposed restricting rallies by extremist-minded individuals and public organizations.
United Russia leader, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov told journalists that he will not back the draft law. "I did not initiate it, and all the more do not want to promote it," he said.
On January 11, Russia's president called for more active measures to counter nationalism, xenophobia, and religious and racial intolerance, which he said not only violated human rights but also threatened national stability and security.
Vladimir Putin's statement, addressed to human rights organizations, came amid growing xenophobic trends in the country, which has been plagued by a series of brutal attacks, some of them fatal, on non-Slavic foreigners in recent years.
