BJP snatched away Anupriya Patel, says mother

VARANASI: A day after Mirzapur Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel was sworn in as Union minister, her mother and party chief Krishna Patel accused the BJP of “snatching her away” and betraying her party. “The BJP used us for Kurmi votes in the Lok Sabha elections and has now broken our family,” she said.

Anupriya is at loggerheads with her mother over leadership of Apna Dal (AD).

Krishna had “expelled” Anupriya last year. “Jo kuchh bhi BJP ne kiya, woh theek nahi hai. Unhone hamarey saath vishwasghaat kiya, humse hamari beti ko chheen kar (whatever the BJP did was wrong. It deceived us by snatching away my daughter),” Krishna Patel told TOI on Wednesday.

“The BJP didn’t even ask us before making her a minister. Being an ally, it should have consulted us on coalition-related issues. We are now no longer a part of NDA and will contest the polls alone,” she said, alleging that the BJP was trying to usurp the legacy of Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel.