Anupriya Patel slams SP-Congress alliance

Anupriya Patel sought to dub the SP-Congress electoral alliance in Uttar Pradesh as a tie-up between "those who looted the country in the past and those who were looting the state at present."

Allahabad, Feb 20: Union Minister Anupriya Patel today sought to dub the Congress-Samajwadi Party electoral alliance in Uttar Pradesh as a tie-up between "those who looted the country in the past and those who were looting the state at present."

"It is strange to see that those who looted the country in the past and those who are looting the state at present have joined hands. The Congress and the SP have resorted to this desperate move as they are scared of the headway made by the BJP-Apna Dal alliance in the first three phases of assembly polls", said Patel, who is the daughter of the Dal's late founder Sone Lal Patel.

Claiming that the BJP has gained handsomely in the first three phases of the assembly polls, she asserted in the remaining four phases, "our position will be strengthened further and we will form the next government in UP".

The Apna Dal is running the polls under an electoral understanding with the BJP. The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare rubbished the claims of good governance by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and said "five years of the SP's rule in the state have been marked by lawlessness."

"The ruling Samajwadi Party, wary of losing power by virtue of its misdeeds, first staged-managed a family feud to deflect the people's attention, following the by inauguration of yet-incomplete projects like Lucknow Metro and Agra Expressway. When it realised that these gimmicks were not having the desired effect, it ended up forming an alliance with the Congress. But the people of UP are wise enough to see through the game plan," she said.

PTI