Taking on the Congress and the BJP on the Telangana issue, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh on Saturday accused them of pursuing divisive politics.
He defended the MPs who opposed the tabling of the Bill on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in Parliament. They were helpless as they were accountable to the people who were against the division.
Addressing his party’s Desh Bachao Desh Banao rally here on Saturday, the SP leader said the BJP was out to divide society on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Sikhs were being hounded out of Gujarat. “Is this development?” On the other hand, people from all States lived in Uttar Pradesh without any discrimination.
Without naming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Singh alleged that Rs. 200- 300 crore was spent on his rallies. In comparison, only a few lakhs, that too donated by the people, were spent on the SP rallies.
Mr. Singh said that in Uttar Pradesh, the contest in the Lok Sabha elections was only between his party and the BJP. “Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. No other State has more than 50. “A Third Front government would be formed as neither the Congress nor the BJP will get majority, and the SP is the biggest constituent of the Third Front.” “If I emerge strong, the next government cannot be formed without the SP, so send a maximum number of SP members to the Lok Sabha,” he said.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also took a dig at Mr. Modi, saying some leaders had harped on development, but were silence once the SP government enumerated its welfare measures.
Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan accused the BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, without naming him, of creating communal disharmony. Mr. Khan cautioned Muslims against the conspiracy to create a rift among them.
