Lucknow: arlier this week, NCP spokesman and Maharashtra’s Minister of Minority Affair Nawab Malik had slammed UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for dillydallying the process of giving entry to stranded migrants in UP by stipulating tough conditions.
“A series of conditions have been laid down by the Uttar Pradesh government for return of workers which includes medical checkup, quarantine and a medical certificate confirming they are not infected with Covid-19.
There are about 25-30 lakh people from UP in Maharashtra. If the government decides to conduct a test of these people, it will take at least one and half years,” Malik had told media.
Strangely, the UP government has neither confirmed nor denied Malik’s statement so far. A press conference is being held in Lucknow by the top officials every day but not a single word has been uttered about it. In the press meets which started soon after the lockdown, only TV channels are invited and question-answer sessions are rare.
This reporter tried to speak to government spokesperson on this issue several times, but they never responded.
Migrant workers and their families back home have started questioning local leaders about it but to no avail. “We don’t know what is the truth. The trains were started on May 1 and my son who stays in Mumbai hasn’t come back yet despite enrolling himself for the journey to UP. So obviously, there must be some issue,” a resident from Lucknow said.
Hemant Tiwari, political commentator said, “The government should clarify this matter immediately otherwise it would raise questions over the Yogi govt stand.”
