Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s office on Tuesday said the Uttar Pradesh government has demanded that the 1,000 buses the party wants to ply for ferrying migrant labourers back to the state be handed over in Lucknow this morning and alleged that the move 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.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday had accepted the Congress’ offer to run 1,000 buses to bring migrant labourers back to the state, a proposal which had triggered a war of words between the two sides.
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.
“In the letter dated May 16, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has sought permission to run 500 buses from Ghazipur border in Ghaziabad and 500 buses from Noida border to help the stranded migrant labourers reach home. In this context, at 4.01 pm (on May 18), I got your letter (through WhatsApp) seeking list of 1,000 buses along with details of drivers and conductors. This was provided to you after sometime through email,” it said.
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