Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday made a strong pitch for consolidation of backward class voters in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, saying the state had got completely rid of the “divisive forces” of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party after Bharatiya Janata Party and Apna Dal (Sonelal) joined hands to win four elections in the state.
Paying glowing tributes to Apna Dal founder Dr Sonelal Patel on his 74th birth anniversary at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here on Sunday, Shah lashed out at the SP and the BSP while underlining the credentials of the BJP as a party devoted to the welfare and uplift of the poor disadvantaged groups, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes.
Shah said the BJP in alliance with the Apna Dal (Sonelal) had won two Lok Sabha elections and two state assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh since 2014 and the BJP in alliance with Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party would again win the 2024 Lok Sabha election in UP and Narendra Modi would be the prime minister for the third term with over 300 seats in Lok Sabha. He made Apna Dal (Sonelal) workers take the pledge to make Narendra Modi the prime minister of the country for the third time in a row in 2024.
The Union home minister also lauded the leadership of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying that in view of the robust law and order in the state, UP had received big investments in different sectors of the economy and the state was developing at a fast pace.
He also lauded Sonelal Patel’s daughter Anupriya Patel, a minister of state in the Narendra Modi government, saying she was taking the legacy of Dr Patel forward and working for the poor, SC and OBCs.
“Sonelal Patel made efforts to usher in happiness in the lives of the poor people from different sections by uniting them. He went to jail and even faced torture, but he did not leave the path of struggle undertaken for the backward people,” he said.
Listing the measures taken by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last nine years since 2014, Shah said, “For the first time since independence, 27 ministers in the Union Council of Ministers are from SC and OBC communities.”
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party/National Democratic Alliance had the maximum number of MPs from SC, ST, OBCs and poor communities.
“The SP and BSP were part of several governments at the Centre in the past but they never cared for the representation of the disadvantaged social groups in the Union government,” Shah pointed out.
He said the SP and the BSP never cared for the National OBCs Commission, and it was the Narendra Modi government which ensured constitutional status for the National OBCs Commission. Moreover, Shah said the Narendra Modi government had also ensured 27 percent reservation for the OBCs in NET.
He said financial assistance was directly provided through DBT (direct benefit transfer) to pre-matric and post-matric students of the OBC community.
Shah said besides working for the SC and OBCs, the Modi government consistently worked for the poor and brought positive changes in the life of 60 crore poor people.
Shah said the Yogi Adityanath government had established a state university in Azamgarh named after Raja Suheldev and Dr Sonelal Medical College in Pratapgarh district. He said under the Vishwakarma scheme, over Rs 100 crore had been provided to 68,000 artisans and a maximum number of government jobs to the OBCs in UP had been provided by the Yogi Adityanath government.
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured the security of the country and its borders.
“During the Congress led UPA government, bomb explosions and cross-border terror attacks were the order of the day. The Modi government has effectively curbed the menace,” Shah said.
He said Article 370 and Article 35A were abrogated and the new era of development had begun in India.