Digvijaya says Nath wanted MP poll tie-up with SP but disapproves his remarks on Akhilesh
Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday asserted his party colleague Kamal Nath wanted to have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the next month's Madhya Pradesh assembly polls «with full honesty», but maintained he does not know how the talks for a tie-up between the two INDIA bloc members got derailed.
Digvijaya Singh praised SP president Akhilesh Yadav for his leadership qualities, but disagreed with Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress head, over his choice of words while dismissing his (Yadav's) criticism for not leaving any seat in MP for the Uttar Pradesh-based party for the November 17 polls.
The former CM said he had suggested Nath leave four assembly seats for the SP, which wanted to field nominees in half a dozen segments.
Talking to reporters at his residence in Bhopal, he sought to downplay the war of wards between the Congress and the SP that erupted after the national outfit did not allocate any assembly seat to the Yadav-led party despite the two being constituents of the INDIA alliance.
«It is okay… friendly fights do take place between alliance partners, but I know the SP and Akhilesh will never go with the BJP,» said the Rajya Sabha member.
After the SP president slammed the Congress leadership last week for not having an alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Nath, while replying to questions from media persons on the tie-up issue, had reportedly said, «Chhodiye Akhilesh Vakhilesh» (just leave Akhilesh).
Digvijaya Singh disapproved of Nath's dismissal of Yadav's criticism.
«I don't know how he (Nath) said so. One should avoid such reactions about a leader of the (INDIA) alliance,» he said.
