New Delhi, Nov 20 Senior Congress leader Udit Raj on Thursday took aim at Maharashtra Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Abu Azmi over his remarks on the former's party, stating that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav should "discipline" such leaders.
He also compared the SP's performance when it went solo in the polls and when it contested the elections with the Congress, stating that Azmi's "senseless" remarks will only "strengthen the NDA".
Azmi has said that the "arrogance" of Congress is "drowning" the party and that it no longer has a "stable vote bank".
Reacting to this, Udit Raj told IANS, "I would urge Akhilesh Yadav to discipline such people. What arrogance? There is no arrogance. We are fighting the ground-level battle, making sacrifices. Another point is that in 2019, the Samajwadi Party won 6 seats, and when it contested the election with the Congress, it won 37 seats this time. So who benefited? Who gains strength by making such senseless statements? It only strengthens the NDA. I would tell Akhilesh Yadav to keep such people under control."
Attacking the Congress, Azmi had alleged that the party always assumes the position of dominance in any alliance and claimed that in the past, it had even walked out of partnerships just ahead of final seat-sharing decisions.
"Akhilesh Yadav formed an alliance very carefully, and we did well... However, Congress is facing the consequences of its own actions. Look at their condition… Congress' arrogance is pulling it down. What does it do in the name of contesting for minorities? The party no longer has a stable vote bank. Despite being a national party, its role in the alliance is also not satisfactory," Azmi told reporters.
Reiterating his decision to contest without any coalition, Azmi said that earlier alliances brought only "betrayal".
He added that while the SP wants all secular forces to stand together to prevent vote-splitting, larger parties "only know how to take and do not know how to give".
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