Mayawati slams Priyanka Vadra's '1000 buses' row; tells Cong to deploy in its own states

Slamming both the BJP and the Congress for playing 'disgusting' politics even as the country fights the Coronavirus pandemic, BSP supremo Mayawati has said that her party has been supporting the migrants without any publicity. The former chief minister of UP has lashed out at Congress and suggested that if the grand-old party wants to help the migrants, they should instead pay for the tickets of their travel via Shramik trains or deploy their buses in Congress-ruled states to ferry the migrants. She also added that BSP has backed Centre's effort in solving problems during Covid-19 outbreak instead of playing dirty politics in name of helping the poor. 

READ | Priyanka Vadra aide Ajay Lallu arrested amid protest to let buses into UP from Rajasthan

Priyanka's aide arrested 

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu was arrested by Agra Police from the Agra-Rajasthan border in Uncha Nangla area where he had staged a sit-in protest demanding that buses his party had arranged to ferry back migrants to their homes, be allowed to enter Uttar Pradesh. 

"A case is being registered under sections 188 and 269 of IPC and Epidemic Act in the Fatehpur Sikri Police station in connection with the incident. Two persons - Ajay Singh Lallu and Vivek Bansal - have been arrested," SSP Babloo Kumar said. Earlier, an FIR was also registered against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's personal secretary Sandeep Singh and party's Uttar Pradesh chief Lallu in Hazratganj Police station of Lucknow on Tuesday.

READ | Priyanka Vadra alleges 'Cong buses blocked at UP border'; concedes less than 1000 arranged

Congress-UP government tussle over 1000 buses

On May 16, Priyanka Vadra wrote to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, urging him to permit the Congress party to run 1,000 buses to ferry migrant workers back to their native place. The UP administration accepted this request on Monday, asking the opposition party to send the buses to Lucknow by 10 am on Tuesday. However, Vadra's private secretary Sandeep Singh stated that sending empty buses to Lucknow was "inhuman" at a time when thousands of workers had gathered at the borders of UP. 

READ | Congress scrambles for '1000 buses' to save Priyanka Vadra's blushes as Yogi accepts offer

Thereafter, UP Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi asked the Congress party to send 500 buses each to Kaushambi, Sahibabad bus stands in Ghaziabad, and the ground near the Expo Mart in Gautam Buddh Nagar where they will be handed over to the respective District Magistrates. Singh again wrote back, remarking that it would be possible for Congress to send the buses only by 5 pm on Tuesday. Meanwhile, UP Minister Sidharth Nath Singh revealed that many two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, and good carriers were in the list of buses submitted by the Congress party. He called upon Congress president Sonia Gandhi to explain why they were committing this "fraud". 

READ | Priyanka Vadra's '1000 buses' for migrants in UP includes autos & bikes; BJP claims 'sham'