Apna Dal bigger party than Congress in UP, says Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the Apna Dal in Uttar Pradesh was now a bigger party than the Congress which claimed to be a national party.

Praising Union health minister Anupriya Patel’s leadership at a rally marking the birth anniversary of party founder Dr Sonelal Patel in Varanasi, the chief minister said, “The Apna Dal has overtaken the Congress. Both the parties have two MPs from UP, and in 2019, the Congress will be left without any MP. The Apna Dal has nine MLAs in the State Assembly. The Congress has only seven legislators.” He lauded Dr Sonelal Patel’s work for social justice.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to double the income of farmers by 2022 is a step in the direction of ensuring social justice. The BJP is working for the poorest of the poor — whether it is giving free power connections or free gas connections. Our government is working on the PM’s concept of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’,” he said.

Meanwhile, 180 kms from Varanasi, the Apna Dal faction led by Ms Kroshna Patel held a rally in Allahabad in which Patidar leader Hardik Patel slammed the BJP for betraying deprived sections of society.

Mr Patel said UP witnessed a change of government but not a change of the social system. He said after the bjp came to power, the state only witnessed a rise in crime.

“There is a need to bring farmers and the Kurmi community together to fight this battle,” he said.

“There is a need to set up a National Farmers’ Commission so that the farmers can get a better deal and the youth can hope for employment opportunities. On both these issues, the Modi government has proved a failure,” he said.

He also slammed the BJP for attempting to fleece the traders in the name of GST.

He promised to give more time to Uttar Pradesh after the Gujarat elections.