Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu has alleged that the CM Adityanath-led BJP Government in the state is anti-poor and is deliberately trying to hinder relief work for labourers and other unprivileged sections here.
Lallu, who had been lodged in prison due to the alleged 1,000 buses fraud case, walked out on Wednesday after getting bail from the Allahabad High Court the previous day.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday at the UPCC Bhawan situated at Mall Avenue in Lucknow, Lallu said, “The anti-poor mentality of the BJP is now out in the public. Those who try to help labourers are sent to jail and are implicated in false cases. However they won’t be able to stop us from working for them on the basis of their dictatorship and anti-poor policies.”
He had been arrested by the Hazratganj Police in Lucknow on June 3 over the issue of 1,000 buses arriving at Uttar Pradesh from Rajasthan amid coronavirus outbreak.
After being let out, he garlanded the statue of Mahatama Gandhi, B R Ambedkar, and Sardar Patel in Hazratganj.
Before the press conference commenced, a two-minute silence was observed for the Indian soldiers who were martyred at the Indo-China border recently.
“The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee stands firmly with the soldiers fighting on the border. But why was our Prime Minister silent for 36 hours after the incident? The country wants to know - on whose orders was the unit of the soldiers of our country sent unarmed," questioned Lallu, while expressing his condolences to the families of the martyred soldiers.
“Our National General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi had asked for permission to run buses for the migrant workers, who were forced to walk hundreds of kilometres on foot, but the government showed its anti-poor mentality and our leaders engaged in the service were slapped with fake cases, even I was sent to jail," he said.
According to him the Adityanath government had forgotten that the Congress party had fought the British. "Dictators like him who are anti-poor and arrogant cannot stop us from serving humanity.”
Lallu added that BJP did not want poor people to get relief. "I have been a labourer myself and have worked in Gurgaon. I understand the pain of migrants. I can understand their hunger, I am aware of their helplessness," he said.
"Yogi Adityanath Ji should open his ears and listen that for my labourer brothers and sisters I am ready to go to jail a thousand times,” the UPCC chief said.
Lallu said the "cowardly" government kept him in jail for 27 days, without being allowed to meet his lawyer.
Despite that, he said his only concern was the thousands of labourers still walking on streets. "I was worried about how food was reaching those people. What was bothering me was how people were being helped and if medicines were reaching the sick,” Lallu said, adding that he was proud of every single Congress worker and leader as they did not let the 'Satyagraha' of service stop.
He said it was a very emotional moment for him that on Priyanka Gandhi's instructions, food and ration was arranged for upto 1.15 crore people all over the state.
"More than 10 lakh people have been helped in other states. For my release, the party organised the 'Seva Satyagraha' movement and ran kitchens in every district to provide food to the needy,” he said.
Comments
0 comment