Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for attacking “our faith” and rejected their alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking at a rally in Amroha, UP, Modi accused the Opposition of promoting “nepotism, corruption, and appeasement.”
Modi mentioned that the Samajwadi Party and Congress parties declined an invitation to the January Ayodhya Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony, accusing them of disrespecting the Sanatana faith and Ram Mandir. He also criticised them for attacking faith in their campaigns and publicly calling devotees of Lord Ram “hypocrites.”
Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while Congress is running in 17 seats. Yadav and Gandhi previously allied in the 2017 Lok Sabha elections, which did not prevent the BJP from winning a landslide victory. Yogi Adityanath later became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier in the week, Yadav and Gandhi addressed a joint press conference, predicting the BJP would win around 150 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi mentioned a growing undercurrent of support for the INDIA bloc across states, expecting a strong performance from their alliance in UP.
