Close on the heels of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressing concern over deaths of employees on panchayat election duties and demanding financial relief for the kin, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also demanded compensation and government jobs to the dependants of the deceased.
The four-phase panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh concluded on Thursday. Employee associations have been alleging that several people on poll duty have succumbed to Covid-19.
In a tweet targeting the state government on Friday, Mayawati said, “It would have been better if the government had postponed panchayat polls due to the rising cases of coronavirus. It would have prevented a number of deaths of employees on election duty. It is very sad.”
“The government should provide proper financial help to dependent family members of all such deceased employees and also give government jobs to their kin,” she said. The former UP chief minister also said that there was a possibility of the virus spreading in villages. “Now, there is a possibility of Covid outbreak and its spread in the villages. In such a situation, the UP government should take necessary steps to prevent coronavirus spread in cities as well as in villages,” she added.
On Thursday, Vadra had expressed concern over the deaths of teachers on election duty in Uttar Pradesh and demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for their family members.
“The news of the death of about 500 teachers engaged in UP panchayat elections is sad and scary. The arrangements for the security of those doing election duty were poor, so why send them? I strongly support the demand Rs 50 lakh to the families of all the teachers jobs to the dependents,” Vadra tweeted.
It may be mentioned that the officer-bearers of Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh claimed that 706 teachers died after getting infected during election duty so far. In a letter to the Election Commission, they also demanded postponement of the counting of votes scheduled to take place on Monday.
The Sangh also released a list of teachers who fell victim to Covid-19. Only in Lucknow division, 115 teachers succumbed to Covid-19, the Sangh claimed.