UP govt functions the way Gujarat govt functions using police force: Congress' Hardik Patel

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: The Uttar Pradesh government is now functioning the way the BJP-led Gujarat government functions using police force, said Congress leader Hardik Patel on Sunday while campaigning for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Hardik Patel's election campaign in Prayagraj was cancelled on Saturday by the Uttar Pradesh administration. When asked about his meeting being cancelled, Patel said, "We asked the police as to why they were stopping me. They said that they have a shortage of force so they had to cancel the meeting." Patel claimed that Uttar Pradesh is functioning the same way Gujarat functions by using the police force. "Uttar Pradesh government is now operating how BJP-led Gujarat operates through police power."

Speaking about Gujarat's development, Patel stated, "Keep aside Surat and Vadodara. To see the actual picture of development in Gujarat, you have to visit the rural parts of Gujarat."

Hardik Patel visited a Gujarati locality in Varanasi on Sunday for campaigning for Congress in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

He claimed that BJP is doing politics of caste and religion in Uttar Pradesh too. "We have come to the land of Baba Vishwanath, where the BJP is doing politics of caste and religion."

Speaking on the ruckus over Pegasus, Hardik said, "When the Supreme Court asked, they said that they don't want to talk about it. Pegasus was first used in Gujarat ahead of the state elections. It is an attempt to eliminate the masses. Through mobile, they are trying to enter everyone's bedroom."

Reacting to Amit Shah's claim that BJP will end goonda raj in Uttar Pradesh, Patel said, "Bharatiya Janata Party is itself a party of goons. There is goonda raj in Uttar Pradesh. In Unnao, an MLA completely finished a girl's family, farmers were tortured in Lakhimpur Kheri. This is nothing but Gundaraj." (ANI)