Akhilesh dubs Congress and BJP as 'one', says no invitation for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'

Shutting all doors for any kind of understanding with the Congress in the near future, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said that there was no difference between the grand old party and the BJP.

Speaking to reporters here, Akhilesh also claimed that he had not received an invitation from the Congress to join the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Uttar Pradesh.

''The principles of our party are different from them (Cong).......for us Congress and BJP are one,'' he added.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh 2022: BJP’s poll juggernaut, Yogi’s bulldozer on roll; Akhilesh, Shivpal bond again

''We support their Yatra but we have not got an invitation,'' he said.

Congress had claimed that it had sent invitations to Akhilesh, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra, CPI leader Atul Anjan, former minister Shivpal Singh Yadav and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar to join the yatra in the state.

According to the leaders of the SP, BSP and some other opposition parties in UP, they were not against the 'Yatra' but they would not join the same when it enters the state on January three. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was an alliance partner of the SP, would also not join the 'yatra'. There was however a likelihood of the (SBSP, a predominantly caste based outfit having considerable clout in the 'Rajbhar' community in the state, joining the Congress' yatra in the state.

Akhilesh's remarks on Congress assume significance as it indicates that his party does not want any kind of understanding with the grand old party in electoral battles in the politically crucial state of UP in future.