Yogi Govt Accepts Priyanka's Plea to Allow 1,000 Migrant Buses to Enter UP, Seeks Details of Drivers

The Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath on Monday accepted a request from Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to allow 1,000 buses carrying migrants to enter the state from Rajasthan. It also asked her to provide a list with details of the buses, drivers and conductors for smooth transport of the migrant workers.

In a letter addressed to the Congress leader, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said the government has accepted her plea to the chief minister made on May 16 regarding migrant workers.

“Hence, without any further delay it is requested to provide the list carrying details of buses along with their drivers and conductors,” it said.

UP Congress Committee Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said the details will be provided soon. “We had requested the UP government to allow 1,000 buses carrying migrants to enter UP from Rajasthan. We were asked for the details of the buses and drivers along with conductors, we are shortly providing the entire list to the government. We cannot see the pain of the migrants anymore. We would request UP CM to take immediate measures,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, Gandhi had attacked the Adityanath government by posting a video of migrant workers from Ramlila Ground in Ghaziabad and alleging they would not be facing any issues had the state made arrangements for them a month ago.

Gandhi's attack followed her appeal on Sunday where she had asked the chief minister to allow buses ferrying migrants from Rajasthan into UP.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi wrote, “A huge number of migrant labours have gathered at Ramlila ground in Ghaziabad to go home. No proper arrangements have been done by the UP Government. Only if some arrangements were done around a month back, migrants won’t have been facing such issues today.”

“Yesterday, we offered help by deploying 1,000 buses and even brought the buses to the UP Border, but the UP Government continued playing politics and didn’t grant us permission. The government is not ready to provide any relief to the people in times of a pandemic and if someone else is giving help, then also they are not ready,” she wrote.

On Sunday, she had posted a video statement asking Adityanath not to politicise the issue and give permission for the buses to enter UP.

“Respected CM sir, it is my request that this is not the time to do politics. Our buses are at the border with thousands of migrant labourers. They just want to reach their homes in such times of distress, we need permission to help them and to send them safely to their homes. Thank You, Jai Hind,” she had said in the video appeal.