The Samajwadi Party today said it has no problem with the BJP if the saffron party gives up its Hindutva issues, drawing a sharp reaction from the main opposition party which said it cannot make sacrifice its ideology for short-term political gains.
"I had stated in Lok Sabha and also told Advaniji a long time back that we have no problem with BJP in case it dropped the three contentious issues of Article 370, uniform civil code and Ram Temple. A reference to it can also be found in the parliament records", SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav told reporters in Lucknow today.
The BJP dismissed as "mischievous" Yadav's remarks saying these are "intended to spread rumour.
"There cannot be even a remote possibility for BJP to consider SP," party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in New Delhi.
"Such statements are an effort to misguide the voters and is part of SP's efforts to regain its lost relevance by creating confusion among the masses", he added.
Naqvi said, "Ayodhya is among the core issues of the party and there is no point to leave it. Our party is not like others which can compromise on its ideology for short-term political gains," Naqvi said.
"The BJP stands for justice, social upliftment and equality for all while both SP and BSP have proven by their rule that they are synonymous with goondaraj, injustice and to create a rift in society", he said.
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