BJP obsessed with elections than saving lives amid pandemic: Akhilesh Yadav

Accusing the BJP of betraying the people, the Samajwadi Party chief said here on Wednesday in a statement that while the pandemic is destroying the lives of the people and it has triggered a second wave of reverse migration of labourers from Delhi and other big cities, the same has also exposed the tall claims of the BJP government that 1.5 crore labours were provided alternative employment last year.

He said the BJP has committed the cardinal sin by taking the poor people for a ride.

He said the lakhs of migrant labour are returning to UP, and huge crowd are seen at bus stand in Delhi and Noida and also at the railway station but the relief from the government is nowhere in sight.

He said the UP government remains blindfolded towards the plight of the migrant labour and NGOs are also not seen around who had helped the labours last year.

The SP chief said the state government has so far not announced any measure for facilitating the safe return of the labour to their native villages with Covid test and essential medicines.

Yadav charged that the Yogi Adityanath government has not drawn a lesson from the fiasco in managing the crisis sparked off by the harsh lockdown imposed by the Central government in March last year.

"The BJP is obsessed with only winning the elections round the year and it has no commitment for serving the people and saving their lives in the hour of the crisis caused by the pandemic," he alleged.

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulged in gimmickry like clapping and banging Thali, which was of no avail.

He said even after over one year of the pandemic there is no change in the response of the government in dealing with the crisis and people are being exploited by the black marketers.

Yadav pointed out that the state machinery is no different and the officials are extorting money from the poor people.