Amethi (UP), Nov 19 (PTI) Congress MP from Amethi, Kishori Lal Sharma, on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of engaging in religion- and caste-based politics, claiming that the party focuses on these divisive issues every time elections approach.

Bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for Wednesday. The Congress is not contesting the bypolls but supporting its INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party.

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"The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath and at the Centre under Narendra Modi has failed on all fronts. They have nothing left except the politics of religion and caste to divide society. They do not address unemployment, inflation, or education," Sharma told reporters here.

"They do not discuss improving healthcare services in hospitals. Instead, they exploit religion and caste to divide communities and pit brothers against each other. Such politics is unacceptable to the country. India is a land where people of all religions and castes prefer to live harmoniously, but the BJP instills hatred among them," Sharma added.

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Commenting on the recent tragedy at a medical college in Jhansi, where children died in a fire, Sharma expressed his condolences and called it a reflection of Uttar Pradesh's poor healthcare system.

"This is the result of severe shortcomings in medical infrastructure. The state's healthcare system is crumbling, but instead of focusing on fixing it, the BJP talks about crematoriums and graveyards," he said.

When asked about Congress's decision not to contest the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, Sharma explained, "The Samajwadi Party is contesting the elections on behalf of the INDIA alliance in Uttar Pradesh. All INDIA alliance parties are supporting the Samajwadi Party, and I am confident that alliance candidates will win all the seats."

Sharma, who sprang a surprise by defeating former Union minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha polls to reclaim the Congress bastion of Amethi early this year, is currently on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)