Apna Dal will continue to raise voice of Dalits: Anupriya Patel
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare attacked the Samajwadi Party and accused it of pursuing the politics of ‘parivarwad’.
Apna Dal (Sonelal) president Anupriya Patel on Tuesday stated that the party would continue to raise the issues of Dalits even after being a part of the government.
The party organised a convention to mark the 75th birth anniversary of its founder Sonelal Patel.
Addressing the gathering, Patel, who’s the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, attacked the Samajwadi Party and accused it of pursuing the politics of ‘parivarwad’ (nepotism).
“If the Samajwadi Party returns to power (in Uttar Pradesh), then only a family member (the Yadav family) will become the chief minister,” she said.
She accused the Samajwadi Party of opposing reservation in promotion.
The Apna Dal president asserted that the party would continue to work for Dalits even though it was in the government.
Patel is a third time MP from Mirzapur and is Union minister of state in the Modi government for the third consecutive time. Apna Dal is also part of the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.
“The Modi government has done a lot for Dalits and the downtrodden. But the opposition was successful in creating misconceptions about reservation,” said Patel.
She was referring to the opposition’s campaign during Lok Sabha that the BJP would revoke reservation if it got 400-plus seats.
Further attacking the opposition, Patel stated that the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) slogan was just a ploy to attain power.
“Despite doing so much for Dalits some issues remained unresolved. The issue of recruitment of 69,000 teachers has remained unresolved,” said Patel.
Her statement during the Lok Sabha campaign in Pratapgarh’s Kunda, which falls under the Kaushambi Lok Sabha seat, had sparked controversy.
“Kings are born not from the womb of a queen, but by EVMs,” Patel had said while campaigning for BJP candidate Vinod Sonkar.
Her statement had led to a political storm as it was perceived to be aimed at Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) president Raghuraj Pratap Singh, who is also called ‘Raja Bhaiya’.
