Congress appeared dismissive of the statement of Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Singh Yadav,who was critical of Rahul Gandhi,and said for the party it was a fight for justice,for dalits and not a political fight. "For us,it is a fight for helping the poor,fight against oppression and injustice to the Dalits. It is not a political fight for us," AICC General Secretary and in-charge of UP affairs Digvijay Singh told reporters in New Delhi. He was commenting on the statement of Yadav,who in an oblique reference to Rahul Gandhi said,"spending a night at a Dalit's house will not do away with his poverty. These people should also tell them who is responsible for their condition." Yadav further said he congratulated Gandhi for Congress' victory in Firozabad but the latter should also accept the blame for his party's defeat in the Assembly bypolls in the state. Asked about the charges,Singh said,"Let them say whatever they have to say. We will continue to do our work". The fresh war of words between the SP and the Congress come in the backdrop of defeat of Dimple - SP chief Mulayam Singh's daughter-in-law and wife of Akhilesh Yadav from Firozabad Lok Sabha seat by Congress candidate Raj Babbar. Attacking SP,AICC Spokesman Mohan Prakash said,"for a long time,SP is not being able to decide whom it is fighting - the BJP,Congress or BSP. I don't know whom Akhilesh wants to fight. Rahul Gandhi's fight is not with any individual but against poverty in the country". Mohan Prakash charged that the critics of Rahul Gandhi are themselves facing a question mark on their relevance. "People of UP are feeling cheated by SP,BJP and BSP in the last 19 years," he said,referring to the rule of non-Congress governments in the largest state of the country. Alleging that the state lacked development and its political glory and culture received a jolt in the last 19 years,Prakash said,"people of the state will give a befitting reply to these parties in the 2012 Assembly polls". The relationship between the SP and the Congress soured after the two parties failed to reach a seat sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections in UP even as the Mulayam Singh-led party had bailed out the UPA government during the Trust vote in July last year.
