Published 10:50 IST, May 19th 2020
Priyanka Vadra cries foul as CM Yogi seeks details of Congress' buses ferrying migrants
After thanking UP CM Yogi Adityanath for allowing her party to run 1,000 buses for the migrants, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has now accused him of 'playing politics'
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After thanking Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for allowing her party to run 1,000 buses for the migrants, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has now accused him of playing politics in the time of COVID. Even as Vadra had taken to Twitter to thank the UP CM, her office on Tuesday said the demand of by the Uttar Pradesh government to submit details of the 1000 buses by 10 AM on May 19, is politically motivated. It also alleged that the demand shows that the UP government lacks the intention to help those stranded at the state's borders.
In a letter to Additional Chief Secretary Avneesh Kumar Awasthi, Priyanka Gandhi's private secretary Sandeep Singh said a letter was received from the UP official at 11.40 am via email, in which it has been stated that 1,000 buses with all documents be handed over at Lucknow by 10 am on Tuesday.
"In a situation when thousands of workers are walking on the streets and thousands of people have gathered at the UP borders at various registration centres, sending 1,000 empty buses to Lucknow is not only a waste of time and resources but is also inhuman and the product of an anti-poor mindset," Singh said in the letter in Hindi. "This demand of your government seems politically motivated. It does not seem that your government wants to help our labourer brothers and sisters who are facing a disaster," the letter said.
Subsequently, her private secretary Singh had given details of the buses and its drivers to the UP government in an email. "All details of the 1,000 buses are attached with this e-mail. Out of them, a few drivers will be reverified and those details will also be mailed to you in a few hours. I hope you will give permission for those buses to ply as soon as possible," Singh had said in the communication to the UP government on Monday.
Yogi poses four questions to Congress
Congress leader Priyanka Vadra had sought permission from the state governmnet for allowing Grand-old party to run 1000 buses for ferrying straneded migrants to different parts of UP. On Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath agreed to her request and sought details of the buses, their numbers and drivers' names. However, slamming the Congress party's pretence at helping migrant labourers, CM Yogi Adityanath posed four questions to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra:
- 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.
10:50 IST, May 19th 2020