Anas Sarwar has blasted an SNP MP for suggesting it makes no difference whether Labour or the Conservatives are in power at Westminster.
Mhairi Black claimed this week there was "little difference" between the two major UK parties ahead of next year's general election.
But the Scottish Labour leader today suggested that such remarks "insult the intelligence of people across the country".
Speaking on a visit to Glasgow Girls FC in the east end of Glasgow, Sarwar also mocked the SNP for failing to select a candidate for a looming by-election in nearby Rutherglen.
"They have spent the last week saying to people that somehow it doesn't matter if the Tories win again - and I think it insults the intelligence of people across the country," he said.
"You have Jacob Rees-Mogg saying they tried to gerrymander local government elections, but somehow Mhairi Black says it doesn't matter?
"You have Rishi Sunak in Iceland, trying to get changes to the European Court of Human Rights, to take human rights away from people, in order to put them on a plane to Rwanda, and Mhairi Black thinks it doesn't matter if the Tories win again?"
It follows a newspaper column in which Black said: "It does not matter whether we have a Labour or a Tory government, independence would rid us of out-of-touch Labour and Tory governments forever."
Sarwar added: "Ultimately, they want the Tories to win again.
"I think they are out of touch with people in Scotland who want rid of this rotten Tory government.
"I don't know why the SNP is so desperate to keep them - perhaps it's to cover for their own incompetence."
The SNP is likely to go head-to-head with Labour in a by-election in Rutherglen in the coming months if disgraced former Nationalist Margaret Ferrier is suspended by Commons authorities.
Such a contest would be viewed as a warm-up to next year's general election, with recent polls suggesting the SNP is at risk of losing multiple seats to Sarwar's party.
Labour has already selected modern studies teacher Michael Shanks to contest the potential vote, and he will stand for the party in the general election expected next year.
But it was reported this week that First Minister Humza Yousaf has rejected a series of local candidates put forward for selection.
Sarwar said he was not shocked to hear about the rumoured struggle to select an SNP candidate.
He said: “To be honest, I’m not surprised. This is a dysfunctional political party and I think they are too busy trying to solve their internal issues to actually be focused on, one, either building and growing their support, and second, for even delivering for people across the country.
“We are relentlessly going to focus on ourselves, making sure we’re continuing to rebuild the Scottish Labour Party and making sure we’re continuing to build that trust and support and building up the ideas for the next election, whether that be in 2024 or 2026.
“We’re focusing on the people’s priorities, not focusing on dividing our country or indeed internal divisions, as seems to be the case with the SNP.”
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