Apna Dal factions trade charges on party founder’s birth anniversary

Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel’s wife Krishna Patel and her lawmaker daughter Pallavi, who represent Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), accused the police of preventing them from holding a similar function in the party founder’s memory

A family feud in the Apna Dal factions came to the fore again on party founder Sonelal Patel’s birth anniversary on Saturday.

Union minister Anupriya Patel along with her sister Aman at an event on her father and Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel’s birth anniversary. (SOURCED IMAGE)

Sonelal Patel’s daughter and Union minister Anupriya Patel, the leader of Apna Dal (Sonelal) along with her husband and U.P. minister Ashish Patel and one of her sisters Aman Patel, held a function at Lucknow’s Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.

The leaders paid glowing tributes to Sonelal Patel and vowed to carry forward his legacy.

“Today, we have on our stage two MPs, 12 MLAs, an MLC, a zila panchayat chief and heads of various commissions. We need to take this forward,” Anupriya said, crediting the cadres with helping raise the party’s graph since 2017.

Just about the same time, Sonelal’s wife Krishna Patel and her lawmaker daughter Pallavi, who represent Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), accused the police of preventing them from holding a similar function in the party founder’s memory.

In the presence of opposition leaders like Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Mahan Dal leader Keshav Dev Maurya, Krishna and Pallavi, an MLA from Sirathu, accused Anupriya.

Pallavi also tweeted later that her mother was arrested for celebrating the birth anniversary of her husband and party founder.

“I didn’t expect this from Anupriya. She doesn’t want anyone else to come forward . Since 2022 U.P. elections, my children and I are being harassed. Anupriya may be a minister today, but shouldn’t forget I helped her become an MLA and MP,” Krishna Patel said at a press conference.

“All our bookings for Ravindralaya, Vishwesaraiyya and Indira Gandhi auditorium were cancelled with all stating they were following orders,” Pallavi said.

Anupriya didn’t respond to the allegations but her husband Ashish Patel claimed that a conspiracy was hatched to create unrest.

“Some people are trying to incite our workers. Some of Sonelalji’s so-called disciples hatched a conspiracy to create unrest on his birth anniversary. We have to guard ourselves from such people,” Ashish Patel, the working president of Apna Dal (S), said.

He said that the Kamerawadi faction deliberately insisted on Indira Gandhi Pratishthan as the venue to create tension.