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Published 15:33 IST, May 18th 2020

Yogi slams Congress' 'aid to migrants', questions responsibility for Auraiya accident

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath posed four questions to UP (East) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the party's 'aid' to migrant workers

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Auraiya accident
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Slamming the Congress party's pretense at helping migrant labourers, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath posed four questions to UP (East) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The latter has slammed the UP government for the ongoing migrant crisis in India, as lakhs of migrants return back to villages amid India's lockdown. Currently, the fourth phase of lockdown has been extended till May 31 as Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases soar to 96,169 with 3029 fatalities.

Uttar Pradesh migrants break police barriers in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa to enter state

Yogi poses four questions to Congress

  • He asked if Congress had 1000 buses, why were migrants sent via trucks from Rajasthan and Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. 
  • He questioned if Congress would take responsibility for Auraiya tragedy as one truck was coming from Punjab and another from Rajasthan
  • Furthermore, he stated that the government has not been informed details of the people or buses arriving in the 1000 buses arranged by Congress to UP
  • Informing that most Shramik trains were travelling workers back to UP, he asked Vadra to convince Congress-ruled states to allow more trains to UP.

Uttar Pradesh Minister slams Priyanka Gandhi over engaging in 'politics' over migrants

Priyanka attacks CM Yogi Adityanath over migrants 

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra earlier this week reiterated her demand that Uttar Pradesh government should deploy the roadways buses to take the stranded labourers to their native places. She claimed that 20,000 buses of the state are sitting idle and asked the Yogi government to put them into service. Since then she has arranged 1000 buses to take back migrants to different parts of UP.

"There is chaos on the roads of the country. The labourers are walking back home from the cities with their children and families on empty stomachs. It seems as if the system has forgotten them. Lakhs of labourers are on the roads braving the summer heat. Accidents are taking place every day," Priyanka said.

Coronavirus Live Updates: As India enters Lockdown 4.0, COVID-19 cases rise to 96,169

UP's migrant rush

On Sunday, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi, revealed that 522 trains have brought 6.65 lakh migrant workers, from other states till date. Moreover, around 16.5 lakh migrants have returned till date amid lockdown. Apart from this, the government is currently, preparing a database of the skills of the incoming workers to provide employment to 20 lakh people as per their skills.

UP govt directs district magistrates to arrange buses to transport walking migrants home

Moreover, the Uttar Pradesh government instructed all district magistrates to arrange buses for migrant workers, who are found walking on foot, to send them to their homes. Moreover, the government has also banned the entry of any migrants on foot and trucks in the wake of the tragedy. This move came after a truck collided with a container truck in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya at 3:30 AM killing as many as 24 migrant workers and injuring more than 15. The migrants were coming from Rajasthan on the truck and were returning to Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
 

15:32 IST, May 18th 2020