SP To Keep Equidistance From Both Congress And BJP, For Now: Akhilesh

The SP would stand firmly with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to defeat the BJP, he said.

"In Bengal, we are with Mamata didi. Right now, our stand is to maintain equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress. Does Congress have any stake in Uttar Pradesh? We will continue our fight against the BJP," he said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of his party's workers' meet.

Earlier, while speaking at the workers' meeting, the SP chief lauded Banerjee for defeating the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly election in 2021.? "The Samajwadi Party is ready to make any sacrifice to protect the country's Constitution. If we can defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP can be defeated across the country. We need to fight to protect the Constitution and secularism in our country," he said.

Yadav slammed the BJP-led union government for allegedly selling out the country's assets to foreign powers and private players.

"There is no accountability. Why public money of LIC and SBI was given to someone whose shares are falling daily,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said without naming the Adani Group.

The Centre does not act against such activities but is prompt in sending CBI and ED to harass leaders of opposition parties, he asserted.

Yadav claimed that the saffron camp has come up with a "BJP vaccine" which makes corrupt leaders immune once they join the party.

Reacting to the criticism that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been facing over his recent comments on foreign soil, Yadav wondered why the BJP is silent on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's recent remarks “insulting” B R Ambedkar."The BJP is bothered about what a Congress leader has said on foreign soil but is not worried about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath insulting Babasaheb Ambedkar in his speech," he said.

Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers, have targetted Rahul Gandhi over his remarks that democracy was under threat in India and there is a "full-scale assault" on the country's institutions. However, Congress leaders maintain that Gandhi has justifiably attacked the ruling party's governance.

-With PTI Input