Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, in what appeared to be an attempt to drive a wedge in the SP-BSP-RLD alliance that has posed a tough challenge to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

“The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress,” Modi told an election rally here, adding a Congress leader had shared the stage with the SP. The reference appeared to be to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s presence at a Samajwadi meeting in Rae Bareli.

Mayawati has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a “big game” with her, he alleged.

“Now this is clear that the SP has derived mileage from Mayawati through the gathbandhan. She was kept in the dark. There was talk of respect. It was said that ‘you (Mayawati) will be made the Prime Minister’, but now Behenji has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her,” he said.

Hitting back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has made allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal a big campaign issue against Modi, the Prime Minister attacked his father Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991.

“Your father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by his courtiers, but his life ended as ‘Bhrastachari number 1’ (corrupt number 1),” Modi said.

“By hurling abuses, you cannot dissolve the 50 long years of Modi’s tapasya (struggle) in dust,” Modi said.

“Only the BJP can give a stable government,” he said, leading chants of “Phir ek baar... Modi sarkar (once again, Modi government)”. PTI