Decision to not allow birth anniversary celebration of Sonelal Patel undemocratic, authoritarian: Akhilesh

PTI, Jul 3, 2022, 10:02 AM IST

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said the administration’s decision to not allow Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) to celebrate the birth anniversary of influential OBC leader Sonelal Patel was undemocratic and authoritarian.

”The BJP government is harassing opposition leaders. At the behest of the government, the administration did not allow the celebration of the birth anniversary of Sonelal Patel,” Yadav said in a statement.

The attitude of the government is highly condemnable, the SP leader added.

He also condemned the detention of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) president Krishna Patel, MLA Pallavi Patel and other leaders.

Yadav said Sonelal Patel fought a lifelong struggle for justice and respect to the poor, downtrodden, backward and the Kamera society.

It is unconstitutional to stop and humiliate his family members, including his daughter MLA Pallavi Patel, from celebrating his birth anniversary, the SP chief added.

Union minister Anupriya Patel’s mother and sister on Saturday slammed her for getting ”cancelled” the permission they had sought to celebrate the birth anniversary of influential OBC leader Sonelal Patel, bringing to the fore the feud in the family.

The Union minister, who heads the Apna Dal (Sonelal), and her mother Krishna Patel and sister Pallavi Patel had sparred in the past too over the Kurmi leader’s legacy.

Krishna Patel and Pallavi Patel run the Apna Dal (Kamerwadi).

While the Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (Sonelal) celebrated her father’s birth anniversary at the Indira Gandhi Pratisthan here, her mother and elder sister staged protests.