Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the daily lives of people had been badly affected due to the ongoing lockdown while various promises of the Central and UP governments were not working at the ground level.
“The poor are facing a grave crisis of food and livelihood. Health facilities are in a shambles. In such a situation, it is obvious that questions will be raised on the claims of relief measures provided by the government,” Akhilesh said on Friday.
On migrant labourers from other states, the SP chief said that a large number of people had returned to Uttar Pradesh and were facing various issues and several among them had become ill.
“There is neither any well-planned arrangement for their treatment nor are they being checked for the coronavirus,” he said.
“The myopic policies adopted by the Yogi Adityanath government is no solution of the problem. Instead, it is going to further aggravate the problem. The government claims of providing livelihood to people through MGNREGA and other means are not reaching the intended beneficiaries,” he alleged.
Akhilesh claimed that industries had been shut down in the state, including in the VVIP district Gorakhpur, due to lockdown.
“Daily wagers are the worst affected as they have not received any relief. Besides, there are complaints of poor quality food grains being distributed through the public distribution system (PDS) shops,” he charged.
“Farmers have not been getting anything but indifference and insult from the BJP regime. Wheat purchase centres are working only on paper. Neither farmers are getting minimum support price, nor is there any hope in future. As a result, they are forced to opt for distress sale of crops. Cane growers have not received long-pending dues yet. Compensation for losses to crops due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms have also not been paid yet,” he said.
Akhilesh further said, “Apart from the dangers of coronavirus, numerous people have serious ailments like heart, kidney, cancer, liver diseases among others. Blood pressure and diabetes patients are also perturbed these days. OPDs are closed in hospitals, surgeries have been postponed. People are not getting medicines and treatment on time.”
The SP chief also said, “While the prime minister merely addresses on Panchayati Raj Diwas, we will have to take a pledge to make villages resource-rich if India has to emerge as a strong nation. The BJP dreams of a ‘vibrant India’ through big industries rather than developing villages or improving the economy of farmers.”