Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav flayed the state government for the house arrest of party’s Sirathu MLA Pallavi Patel in Kaushambi district ahead of the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The home minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were in town for the ‘Kaushambi Festival, 2023’ on Friday.
“Placing the MLA under house arrest to prevent her from attending the Kaushambi festival and meeting people of her assembly constituency is a display of negative politics pursued by the BJP,” said Akhilesh, who is also the leader of opposition in UP assembly.
“The electorate of Uttar Pradesh will give a befitting reply to the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections and dislodge the saffron party from power,” he added.
The SP MLA was not officially invited to attend the festival. The police placed her under house arrest apprehending breach of peace as she was adamant to attend the festival. Pallavi Patel said she wanted to go to Kaushambi festival to welcome the home minister as the event was organised in her assembly constituency.
Alleging that the police action was against her privilege, she said: “Police prevented me from attending the Kaushambi festival on the grounds of maintaining public order.”
Meanwhile, Akhilesh alleged that private companies were buying wheat from farmers at much lower rates than the minimum support price. He said the farmers were forced for distress sale of wheat as the government agencies were not procuring it from them.
He said the failure of the government to buy wheat from farmers has proved that it pays only lip service to them but protects the interests of the business class.
The SP chief said the BJP had discontinued the practice of periodically assuring farmers about doubling their income. He added that potato and wheat farmers suffered huge losses due to unseasonal rains in March.
“The government has not even conducted a survey of the damages caused to farmers, what to say of compensating their losses,” the SP president said.