Trouble mounts for ‘INDIA’ as Akhilesh accuses Congress of betrayal

Lucknow: After Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai curtly asked the Samajwadi Party (SP) to withdraw from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, Akhilesh Yadav has reacted strongly and accused the Congress of betrayal.

Even as the Congress leadership maintains a studied silence on the growing divide in the INDIA bloc, Akhilesh alleged that some Congress leaders were in cahoots with the BJP.

Rai, on the other hand, claimed that the SP would have lost the Ghosi assembly election if the Congress had contested the seat.

Akhilesh warned that the Congress will get the same treatment in Uttar Pradesh that it was laying out for SP in Madhya Pradesh.

The exchange of remarks between the two parties is a clear indication of the simmering tension within the Opposition alliance ahead of the Assembly elections in the five states.

The INDIA bloc, which was formed with the idea of uniting the Opposition against the BJP in elections, seems to have no plan in place for the assembly elections.

The SP chief echoed this uncertainty when he wondered if the Opposition front was only at the national level or also for the state elections.

However, the silence of the Congress leadership is adding to the bitterness among the allies.

Akhilesh responded fiercely to Rai’s remarks and said: “The state (Congress) chief has no authority. He was not there in the meeting held at Patna, Mumbai. What does he know about the INDIA alliance? These people from Congress are siding or involved with the BJP.”

The SP chief further said that the Congress leadership should not allow its “small leaders” to comment on his party.

“Had I known on the first day that there is no alliance at the Vidhan Sabha level, our party leaders wouldn’t have gone to the meetings. We would not have given them a list (of seats that the SP wanted to contest in Madhya Pradesh), nor would we have picked their calls,” he added.

It is clear that unless the Congress leadership intervenes and tries to resolve the crisis that is building up in Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA bloc will crumble in the state that matters most.

BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi said: “It has happened sooner than expected. We always knew that the opposition alliance would not last because there was no ideological cohesiveness. It was an alliance of opportunism and is now coming apart.”