Congress portraying PM as weak: Mulayam

Claiming that Congress was portraying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as "weak", Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today said the PM "should have resigned" after the ordinance on convicted lawmakers was dismissed as "nonsense" by party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

"The Prime Minister is being made weak. And those in his own party are doing this... His party man who himself wants to become Prime Minister tears the ordinance (on convicted lawmakers). In such a situation, he (PM) should have resigned," Yadav told a party rally here.

Slamming the Congress-led UPA government, he said, "There are bigger challenges before the country, but those running it are not accepting them. The leadership is coward."

On India's foreign policy, Yadav said it was unfortunate that none of the neighbouring countries "was a friend" of India. "China had betrayed first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, in whose regime the slogan, 'Hindi-Chini bhai bhai', was given," Yadav said.

Yadav said the people of the country have lost their faith in both the Congress and the opposition BJP. "SP is being considered as an alternative as the party stands on its principles and fulfils promises it makes... We consider breaking promise as a corruption and people know it," he said.

Claiming that the Third Front would get majority in the next Lok Sabha polls, Yadav said in West Bengal there would be no BJP or Congress and similar scenario would be witnessed in Odisha and Tamil Nadu. "UP will be the deciding state. You should decide whether you want to sent us strong or weak to Parliament," the SP chief told party men.

In a bid to woo Muslims ahead of polls, Yadav said he was being criticised by the opposition for taking side with the community, but the reality was that "I tried to get justice for them".

Defending his decision to order firing on 'karsevaks' in Ayodhya in 1990, Yadav said the order was given not only to prevent the demolition of Babri mosque but also to maintain the country's unity.

He said the SP government in Uttar Pradesh had ensure participation of Muslims in state police force and at present there were Muslim personnel in every police station.