Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 2 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday urged workers of the Apna Dal, an ally of the BJP, to help the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, enabling Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return to the country's highest office for a third, straight term in 2024.
Shah said the BJP and the Apna Dal have fought and won four elections together.
Speaking at the 'Jan-Swabhiman Divas' event, which was organised at Lucknow's Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on Sunday to mark the 74th birth anniversary of Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel, Shah said the BJP and its ally came together to free Uttar Pradesh of disruptive political forces such as the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP).
The Union Home Minister said Sonelal Patel dedicated his whole life to fighting for the welfare of Dalits and tribals, as well as the backward and deprived sections of the society.
Heaping praise on Anupriya Patel, the daughter of the party's founder, Shah said she was treading in her father's footsteps.
Also lauding UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Union Home Minister said, "The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh has improved under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The state has also received bulk investment proposals. Our government is sincerely implementing welfare schemes of the central government for the poor. The number of backward-class youths to have been employed is the highest under the leadership of CM Adityanath."
"Prime Minister Modi has done a lot of work for the backward classes in the last nine years. The current NDA government has the most ministers from backward classes since independence. By giving constitutional status to the Backward Commission, Prime Minister Modi has worked to give backward classes the rights that they had denied for long," Shah said.
He also hailed PM Modi for making the country safer in the face of external threats and evolving geo-political challenges, adding that terrorists from across the border would routinely cross over into India and unleash attacks on innocent civilians under the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
"Today, terror attacks have come down significantly in the country. Now, India counters any misadventure from across the border with surgical and air strikes. Prime Minister Modi has worked to make the country safe and strong. The country's prestige and global standing have been further enhanced under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi," he added.
Several NDA leaders, including of the BJP, attended the event to mark the birth anniversary of the Apna Dal founder.
UP deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, BJP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, the national president of Republican Party of India and Union Minister, Ramdas Athawale, Anupriya Patel and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad were among the dignitaries attending the event.
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