MP: Akhilesh calls Congress chalu' party, Shivraj says INDIA alliance in tatters

Bhopal: Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday called Congress as ‘chalu’ (fraud) party and exhorted people not to trust it.

Talking to reporters in Tikamgarh under Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh on the sidelines of his campaigning for his party candidates in the belt, Mr Yadav said that Congress has betrayed him by refusing to share seats with his party in the November 17 assembly polls in MP, although, the grand old party started negotiation with SP for this.

Mr Yadav said that the previous Kamal Nath government had lacked a majority in the house to form government in the 2018 assembly elections and he had asked his lone party MLA in the MP assembly then to extend support to it.

He said that Mr Nath has perhaps developed forgetfulness due to his advanced age.

Late on Sunday, addressing a series of public meetings in Tikamgarh district while campaigning for his party candidates, he said that Mr Nath perhaps could not recognise people because of his old age.

“Obviously, it is hard for an 80-year-old person to recognise a person. When he could not recognise me, how could he recognise you”, he told the gathering.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that it is clear from Mr Yadav’s statement that the INDIA alliance is in tatters.

Mr Chouhan also dared Mr Nath to ‘reveal’ his real age in the wake of Mr Yadav calling him an 80-year-old man.

“It appears that Mr Nath has lied to Rahul Gandhi by saying that he is 72-year-old. Mr Nath should reveal his real age”, he said.

Union minister Rajiv Chandrasekhar who is currently on a day's visit to Madhya Pradesh on Monday backed Mr Yadav's statement that Congress is a 'chalu' party.