Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chhattarpur: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit out at the Congress for terming his party casteist and dynastic, and said the Congress was now speaking the same language as the BJP.
It was the Congress which refused to enter into a tie-up with the SP for the November 17 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, he told reporters at Chandla in Chhattarpur district of the state.
Both the parties are members of the opposition's I.N.D.I.A grouping which is aiming to put up a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
“As far as alliance (in MP) is concerned, it was the Congress which refused to have one. The Congress says the SP is a casteist and dynastic party, then what is the difference between it and the BJP? They both speak the same language,” Yadav said.
He was at Chandla to speak at a public meeting in support of the party's candidate Pushpendra Ahirwar.
Dynastic politics exists in every party, said Akhilesh, the son of late SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, to a question.
Whoever talks of social justice will have to face the allegations of being casteist, he further said.
Asked about the Congress `poaching' SP candidates in the state, Yadav said, “It shows their intentions....let them do it. The people of Madhya Pradesh have seen that it was the Congress which has rejected an alliance.'
About his party's Bijawar candidate Rekha Yadav pulling out of the fray, Yadav said both the Congress and BJP were to blame for it.
As to the I.N.D.I.A grouping, the SP chief said it will be discussed at the time of the Lok Sabha elections, as only the strength of 'PDA' (Pichda, Dalit and Adivasi) will be able to defeat the BJP.
While the Congress's chief ministerial candidate Kamal Nath is an 'old man', the ruling BJP has more candidates for the CM post than the number of administrative divisions in Madhya Pradesh, he quipped while replying to a question.
On post-election support to any party, Yadav said he will consider supporting only the party that would conduct a caste census.
Yadav, however, avoided commenting on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's statement that nothing was happening in the I.N.D.I.A alliance, saying he would talk about it later.
The BJP too was now talking about giving more tickets to the backwards classes, the SP chief noted.
“It reflects a big change in the mindset. Even the Congress which stopped conducting caste census after Independence is now talking about it....it means they are sensing the power of PDA,” he said.
Both the Congress and BJP will never take a decision in favour of Dalits and backward classes, Yadav claimed when asked about election promises of making a Dalit or backward classes member a chief minister.
Speaking at the public meeting later, Yadav said that some parties are calling the SP casteist, but 'Samajwadis can never become casteist as they believe in taking along everyone.'
Whenever the SP comes to power or a government is formed in the state with its support, a caste census will be the first thing that will be done, he assured.
The people of Chandla have blessed SP candidates twice and this time also they would ensure its victory, he said.