Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday said the Congress-led UPA government was neck-deep in corruption and his party announced that support to the coalition would be difficult once allies started to pull out over the issue. “Every day a new scam unfolds. The Congress’s reputation has been tainted throughout the country,” Yadav said.

Mohan Singh, SP general secretary, said the party regretted its decision to support the UPA. “We will not repeat our mistakes for which we have suffered heavy losses. If the allies leave the UPA over scams, we won’t be able to help the Congress,” he said.

Singh also targeted Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. “Whoever understands Indian politics will say Rahul Gandhi doesn’t have the qualities to lead the country. In the last two years in Parliament, we didn’t hear his analysis on any critical issue,” he said.

The Congress shot back at SP, reminding Yadav he had flaunted the UPA’s third anniversary performance report standing with the Prime Minister.