We Want To Ferry Migrants Ourselves: Congress Leader To Uttar Pradesh

PL Punia also stressed on the need to open economic activities in the country. (File)

Congress national spokesperson PL Punia on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to allow the Congress party to ferry migrant workers stranded on Delhi-UP border to their homes in the state.

"The working of the UP government is very strange. Priyanka Gandhi offered to run 1,000 buses to ferry migrant workers from Ghazipur and Noida to their homes. However, they are asking us to handover the buses to them in Lucknow," Mr Punia told ANI.

He said that the buses are in Ghaziabad and driving them to Lucknow and back will not be economical.

"We want to ferry these migrant workers ourselves. They should give permission to Congress workers to arrange for these migrant workers' return to their homes. They think we want to score political points by doing this," Mr Punia said.

"Priyanka Gandhi has clearly said that there is no politics involved in this. We only want to help the migrant workers who are resorting to walking hundreds of kms to reach their homes amid the lockdown," he added.

Mr Punia also stressed that there is a need to open economic activities in the country and maintain social distancing at all times to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

This comes after the Uttar Pradesh government accepted the request of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to allow 1,000 buses arranged by the Congress party to take migrant labourers to their homes in the state from Delhi-UP border.

Migrant workers are stranded across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown. Buses and trains are being arranged by the States and Central governments to ferry them back to their home states.