Patna: Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Akhilesh Singh, one of the six Rajya Sabha candidates, on Monday slammed former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Ashok Choudhary, who has now joined the JDU.

On Sunday, Choudhary had claimed there would be chaos and the Congress would split were Akhilesh to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha.

"Who is Ashok Choudhary in the Congress party," Akhilesh asked after filing his nomination papers. "I don't know anybody by the name of Ashok Choudhary in the Congress. Yes, there is someone leader called Ashok Ram, who was present during my nomination today."

Earlier in the day, Dilip Choudhary - a former Congress leader now in the JDU - said Ashok could not sleep the whole night, as many Congress MLAs were calling him to confirm their support for him (Ashok)."He is telling utter lies," Akhilesh said. "As far as the issue of not sleeping the whole night is concerned, I suggest he (Ashok) visit a doctor and take medicines so that he can sleep tonight."

He ridiculed Ashok's claim that Congress MLAs were in touch with him.

"No Congress MLAs are with him," Akhilesh said. "When he was in the party, a few Congress MLAs used to meet him but that is a matter of the past.

Akhilesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to finish off the Congress for a long time now but it has not happened so far.

Instead, the party was becoming stronger with every passing day.

Asked about Ashok's claim that the Congress would spilt after his nomination, Akhilesh said: "A famous idiom suits Ashok. Khisyani billi khamba noche (a cat that is unable to catch mice will scratch a pillar in frustration)."