"Congress a 'Chalu' party, don't vote for it": Akhilesh Yadav in Madhya Pradesh

Tikamgarh (Madhya Pradesh) [India], November 5 (ANI): Amid the ongoing rift within the INDI-Alliance, Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday hit out at the Congress, calling it a "Chalu" party.
He also reiterated that the Congress has "betrayed" the alliance.
"Congress is a 'Chalu' party. Do not vote for it. If It can betray us, then how come you are significant to it? Stay aware of it", Yadav said while addressing an election gathering in Jatara constituency of the Tikamgarh district for the party candidate Ratiram.
Overall the Samajwadi Party has declared its candidates for 72 seats in the state.
Praising the previous SP government in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "During our governance, we provided the best schemes for our daughters. We worked for their safety. We provided a phone number to them through which they could call the police when in trouble and the police would immediately reach them. Even the Supreme Court remarked that every state should adopt such schemes".
Attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre, Yadav said, "Netaji (former Uttar Pradesh CM and late SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav), took the decision that the martyrs would be brought back to their homes with full honour and respect. Now the BJP government has launched the 'Agniveer' scheme, under which, no recognition and no respect will be provided to the soldiers upon their martyrdom. And they (BJP) call themselves 'nationalists".
The polling on all the 230 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
Earlier on Friday, the ongoing rift within the mega alliance took a fresh turn as the SP Supremo accused the Congress of "betraying" the INDIA bloc.
Speaking to reporters on a visit to MP's Chhatarpur on Friday, the former UP chief minister said, "The people of Madhya Pradesh have been following the recent events closely and are now aware that if anyone has betrayed the alliance, it is the Congress. However, further discussions on taking the alliance forward will be held ahead of the Lok Sabha elections."
"The power of PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) will prevail over the NDA," the SP chief added.
The strained partners in the INDIA bloc have been at loggerheads following the breakdown in seat-sharing talks, with Akhilesh firing the "Chirkut" (small-timer) jibe at Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai in October.
Upset over the Congress's alleged seat snub to the SP ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, Akhilesh said, "I want to tell the Congress, don't let your Chirkut leaders talk about us."
He added that he was clueless if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was meant to take on the BJP at the national or state level.
"If Congress didn't want to give us seats (in MP), they could have said it before. We have decided to go it alone in Madhya Pradesh. After (the breakdown in seat-sharing talks in) Madhya Pradesh, I have come to realise that INDIA is meant only for the general elections. But if Congress continues to behave like this, then who will stand with them? If we fight against the BJP with such confusion and doubts in our minds (around the alliance), we will never succeed," he added.
Ajay Rai earlier asked the SP to withdraw from MP in favour of the grand old party as the Akhilesh Yadav-led party, he said, did not have any base there.
Rai said, "If you (Akhilesh Yadav) are a part of the INDIA alliance, then you will have to see what the situation is in each state. In Madhya Pradesh, there is a fight between Congress and the BJP, so SP should be supportive (to Congress). They had only one MLA and there he also joined the BJP."(ANI)