Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that even as the country was united in the fight against coronavirus and everyone was supporting lockdown, confusing statements from the government were causing problems for the people.
Akhilesh said that the model for relief work adopted by UP government was not working up to people’s expectations and the poor and vulnerable sections had been left to fend for themselves.
“Even as the people are united in the fight and want to defeat coronavirus, the government, instead of sincerely working for people, is more interested in achieving its political ends,” he said.
The SP chief said that instead of pursuing its political agenda, the government should pay attention for the welfare of the poor and medical treatment to all.
Akhilesh alleged that relief material collected by non-governmental organisations and other organisations was being distributed to the people as relief work by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
“There is no difference between community kitchens and RSS bhandaras in the state as food items obtained from NGOs and government institutions are being distributed to Bharatiya Janata Party supporters after filling them in ‘Modi packets’,” he alleged.
The SP chief further said that the ‘Agra Model’ earlier praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the fight against the pandemic was consistently failing because of grave carelessness and poor arrangements.
“The helpline of Agra district administration is also not effective. Neither is lockdown being fully followed in hotspots of Lucknow and other districts, nor a proper supply of essentials and milk to residents of such areas is being made. The much-hyped Team-11 should also provide details about testing of coronavirus suspects,” the SP chief stressed.
“The state government had issued special passes to numerous shops in Lucknow for distribution of medicines, grocery etc. Rather than providing relief to the people, several shopkeepers either closed their stores or quoted high prices for items. Now, special passes are being used to roam around the city,” he alleged.
Akhilesh flayed the government’s move to suspend payment of allowances and DA to the state employees and pensioners.
He said, “The decision to stop DA of government employees should be immediately retracted. On one hand, officials and employees are working more as compared to normal days by risking their lives, and on the other, the government is discouraging them. This is an even more fatal decision for the elderly dependent on pension.”