The spat between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress over the seat-sharing arrangement in Madhya Pradesh on Friday turned worse when MP Congress President Kamal Nath gave a snappy response to a media query about Akhilesh Yadav.
On being asked about SP’s allegations of betrayal over seat-sharing, Kamal Nath said, “Are bhai chhodo Akhilesh Vakhilesh (leave questions on Akhilesh),” sparking speculations of an intensifying drift between the two allies of the INDIA bloc.
This came a day after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed Congress for not sharing seats in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls followed by a strong response from UPCC president Ajay Rai alleging Yadav’s party of a secret arrangement with the BJP.
In what can be termed as a possible crack in the INDIA grouping, Yadav also warned that the Congress could get the same treatment from his party in Uttar Pradesh after it did not leave any seat for the SP in Madhya Pradesh.
Yadav reiterated in Shahjahanpur that based on SP’s performance in Madhya Pradesh, Congress had agreed to give six seats but not even the sitting SP MLA was given a ticket.
In a strong response, Congress’s Rai in a statement said the people of Uttar Pradesh want to know “When our party was talking to SP about seats (in MP), why did Samajwadi Party release the list of its candidates before Congress released the list of candidates?”
“Akhilesh Yadav is himself saying that he wanted six seats, then what is the point of fielding candidates on 30 seats, who will benefit from it?” “On one hand Akhilesh Yadav talks about saving the Constitution, fighting for the weaker sections, Dalits and backward classes, and on the other hand, he is contesting elections in MP separately, what is his real compulsion? Tell this to the public. Do not blame the Congress. Who will benefit from fighting separately, everyone knows that BJP will benefit from it,” Rai added.
Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged that the BJP was indulging in “false propaganda and spreading lies” to create a rift in society.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party spreads so many lies that often the public starts accepting it. BJP is indulging in politics of hatred and is working to drive a wedge in society,” Yadav said.
With inputs from News18