Congress on Thursday attacked Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati for dubbing Rahul Gandhi's dharna in Greater Noida as "mean theatrics", saying she was acting out of "frustration".
"BSP knows they are going to lose. The Uttar Pradesh government is feeling that it is now time for it to go. They are saying all these things due to frustration.
"The Uttar Pradesh chief minister has lost her self confidence. She had earlier aligned with various parties but that possibility is also not there now. Hence these absurd reactions," party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters.
The AICC media department chief's reaction came soon after Mayawati held a press conference in Lucknow lambasting Gandhi, the Congress party and other opposition parties accusing them of spreading lies and rumour on the issue.
Dwivedi countered Mayawati, saying "it is absolutely absurd. Whatever Congress did there or Rahul Gandhi is doing across the country is through democratic means.
"If raising one's voice to remove the miseries of the poor is not democratic, then those raising such issues should doubt their intelligence. Only a person, who does not understand democratic values can raise such issues. I do not think anybody should take her words seriously."
The Congress leader also condemned Mayawati's statement that whatever Rahul Gandhi intends to do on the issue of acquisition of farmers' land, he should first do in his party. She said Gandhi is not being heard in his own party.
"No better language can be expected from Mayawati. Nobody else can understand whose writ runs how large in the other party," Dwivedi said.
He also dismissed Mayawati's contention that she had written many times to the Centre for a proper relief and rehabitation policy in whose absence many states are facing such problems.
"If state governments want, they can do many things to provide better compensation to farmers even in absence of any Central legislation and if some state government does not want to do it, it will not do it even after this," Dwivedi said.
He also cited the example of Congress-ruled Haryana, which he described as a model to be adopted by other states in matters of land acquisition.
He said that it is not only Mayawati, who is attacking Congress but "even other parties, who are talking about farmers are targeting Congress because of the support Rahul Gandhi is getting on the issue."
Dwivedi, however, refrained from demanding resignation of Mayawati saying elections are close by and people will remove her. "One cannot expect this government to resign on moral grounds, when it not accept even a small demand like ordering a judicial inquiry into the incident," he said.