Rampur, Jul 12 (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that if Narendra Modi wanted to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh he should come forward and learn the culture and politics of the state, where people could not be divided along communal lines.
"He (Modi) should not think that UP is Gujarat since there was a sea of difference between cultures of the two states, people of these states differ so far as political thinking and social attitudes are concerned," he said here yesterday.
"If Modi is keen to contest from UP let him come forward so that he may be equipped with the culture and politics of the peace loving electorate who have been living here practising communal brotherhood and harmony," Yadav said.
On being asked about SP candidates to be pitted against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and other important constituencies, he said, "the decision will be taken by the party's parliamentary board."
He criticised Centre's stand on the recent Chinese incursions in Ladakh and said strict steps were required to prevent any such step in future.
Yadav was in the city to condole the death of State Minister Azam Khan's mother.