Congress, BJP takes a dig at Mulayam Singh, says SP patron's words and actions don't match

Lucknow: A day after Mulayam Singh Yadav blamed Indian National Congress for the loss in Uttar Pradesh polls, the party hit back saying the Samajwadi Party (SP) patron’s words and actions do not match and that he had always drifted away when attempts to form a joint front against “communal” forces were made. [caption id=“attachment_3431126” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mulayam Singh Yadav with his son Akhilesh Yadav. PTI[/caption] The family feud in the first family of SP should not have become a public affair and efforts should have been made by both the sides to resolve it amicably, UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. He termed Yadav’s claim that the Congress was responsible for the current poor state of SP as “baseless”. “Mulayam’s allegations are devoid of any substance and are simply baseless. Who broke the coalition of like-minded secular forces in Bihar? It was Mulayam Singh Yadav. There is a clear difference in his words and action,” Singh said. Speaking to PTI, the Congress spokesperson said that it was Yadav who always drifted away from any coalition which tried to put up a joint front against “communal and opportunistic” forces. On Sunday, Yadav had in Mainpuri said “Alliance with Congress is responsible for the present poor state of the party. I had advised Akhilesh for not going ahead with it but he went ahead. SP is alone is responsible for its defeat.” He had also claimed that the Congress had left no stone unturned to ruin his life and had lodged cases against him. Yadav also came under fire from the BJP today for his comments yesterday against the Prime Minister. Accusing the SP patron of “disrespecting the overwhelming mandate” of the voters of UP, the BJP urged him to do serious introspection and soul searching. “The way Mulayam was virtually thrown out of the SP by his son Akhilesh Yadav…. given his current state of mind, his statements are not surprising,” UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla said. Yadav had on Sunday attacked Modi alleging that he had “lied” to the people by promising them Rs 15 lakh in every account but even a sum of Rs 15,000 was not given. Shukla said the voters of UP have given a befitting reply to the SP in the Lok Sabha as well as Assembly elections. “Mulayam must undertake serious introspection and rethinking of the various deeds of his party men and workers. UP’s bad performance in the nationwide cleanliness rankings must give him some food for thought as the previous SP government did little to improve the state’s cleanliness quotient,” he said.