Mulayam Singh said the Congress had no right to criticise Kalyan Singh over the destruction of the Babri Masjid, given that it was the ruling party at the Centre at the time of the demolition. “Congress is pachare mein nahin pade (Congress should not get into this matter)” was his message to his UPA partner.

He said he had been informed by his supporters that the Congress planned to make his “friendship” with Kalyan Singh an issue ahead of the elections. “It was the Samajwadi Party that saved the UPA government. Even today, the SP is supporting the government at the Centre. My suggestion is that the Congress leaders should avoid the Kalyan Singh matter.”

To reiterate his secular credentials, he referred to a speech he had delivered at a meeting of the National Integration Council in 1990. “My speech must have been recorded.” He said it was he who had opposed the shilanyas in Ayodhya. “I had said... yeh shilanyas desh ke ekta ko bhang karne wala hai (this shilanyas will break the unity of this country). The result was the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992... My police had opened fire in the interest of the country’s integrity. At the time of the demolition, the Congress was at the Centre,” he said.