AICC General Secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Madhusudan Mistri said that Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav was 'frustrated' because he knows his party would be wiped out in the coming lok Sabha elections.
"Yadav’s attack on the Congress shows that he is frustrated after the Muzaffarnagar riots apprehending shift of the Muslim vote towards the Congress," he said.
Talking to reporters here along with UP Congress president Nirmal Khatri, the UPCC Chief said that everyone knows that SP and the BSP can any time join the BJP bandwagon." But Congress has the distinction of never compromising with the communal forces. So expecting that Muslim can switch over to Congress after the failure of the UP government to save the lives and property in Muzaffarnagar Yadav is targeting Congress," he said.
"Yadav is misguided over the Muzaffarnagar riots and unable to face the criticism of his government was giving unethical statements like there is no riot victims in the reliefcamps, thus making mockery of himself," he added.
On the comment of the SP president that Congress was on the verge of finish and has failed to deliver at the Centre, Mistri said," Congress is not a weak party. We have seen several ups and down. We are political workers and don't loose our confidence. In 2009 none believed that we would return to power but things happened and in UP the party won a record 22 seats," he said.
Mistri,who will hold an important meeting here on Wednesday with the district/ city presidents along with zonal in-charges on the lok Sabha election preparation said that UPA is all set to regain power.
'' We have already started our ground work and party vice- president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Muzaffarnagar recently was a part of our strategy to connect directly with the people before the elections,'' he said and added that a meeting would be held in lucknow of the party leaders and workers to seek their suggestions for the party's lok Sabha manifesto.
When asked about the possibility of pre-poll alliance in UP, the AICC general secretary said the A K Antony committee is looking after the issue and it will take the decision at the right time.
He also refused to comment on whether PM Manmohan Singh could step down and Rahul Gandhi could become the PM.'' I have no knowledge of it nor I am aware about the agenda of the AICC session to be held in New Delhi on January 17 next,'' he stated.
Mistri, reacting sharply on a question about the reported statement of CWC member and Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma targeting the state Congress leaders, he said that Congress president and vice-president are the sole decision maker in the party and none other have any role.