Lucknow, Nov 13 (IANS): The Congress Wednesday accused Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of conniving with the BJP and raising issues related to the Ayodhya temple, ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Yadav was doing so to deflect the attention of the people from serious issues facing Uttar Pradesh, Congress spokesman Maroof Khan said in a statement.

"Samajwadi Party leaders are trying to incite communal passions and casteist feelings while Congress wants a positive, development-oriented discourse in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls slated for 2014," he said.

Leaders who made no contributions during the freedom movement were now sermonizing on Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, the Congress leader said.

Khan asked Mulayam Singh Yadav not to shed crocodile tears on issues like the Ayodhya temple and India's history, but explain why so many riots were taking place during the Samajwadi Party rule.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav should explain why despite being in power on many occasions the guilty behind the Meerut, Maliana, Hashimpura, Peer Batawan, Aligarh, Moradabad and Muzaffarnagar riots have not been booked till now," Khan asked.