Mulayam should go: Rahul

'Secular' ally Samajwadi Party got the rough edge of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tongue as he denounced the party's rule in Uttar Pradesh and said it was time the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government was asked by the people to go.

"If the government is not doing any work, it is time for change," he told mediapersons when asked about his allegation of non-performance of the UP government and that whether he felt it should go. He was campaigning for his mother in the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency where the election is due on May 8.

Gandhi said the voter turnout would depend on three factors - distance of polling booths from villages, weather and the marriage season. He said caste was important but not a decisive factor in the election.

He said UP had a lot of potential, but the people did not get the opportunity to grow. The government should come close to the people as it was not easy for national leaders to come in close contact with the masses, he added.

To a question whether his sister Priyanka would also join the campaign, Rahul said she was not ready to involve herself with electioneering. "I have told her that at least she can sit next to me in my car when I campaign," he said.

Priyanka is Sonia Gandhi's polling agent. Her husband Robert Vadra had yesterday joined Rahul during the campaign.

Gandhi said the SP government was not keen on development of Rae Bareli and Amethi, believing it would benefit Sonia Gandhi. "A road does not differentiate between people just as water does not discriminate between people," he said.

Rahul said whatever development was taking place in the state was because of Centre's help. Rahul also said that whenever the Centre wanted to invest in Rae Bareli, the state government refused to accept the assistance.