Cong, SP term migrants' death in UP 'murder'; BSP asks all to rise above petty politics

Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress and Samajwadi Party termed the death of 24 migrant workers in a road accident in Auraiya on Saturday "murders", while the BSP asked parties in power to rise above petty politics and ensure the safety of migrants trying to return home amid the lockdown.

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress accused the state government of being insensitive towards the plight of migrant workers and demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resignation over the incident.

At least 24 migrant workers were killed and 36 injured when a trailer rammed into a stationary truck, both carrying passengers, on a highway near Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh in the early hours of Saturday.

Some of the workers coming from Delhi had stopped for tea when the accident occurred between 3 am and 3.30 am on the Auraiya-Kanpur Dehat stretch of National Highway 19, police said.

Most of those killed were from Jharkhand and West Bengal, and some from Kushinagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

In a tweet, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed sorrow over the deaths and prayed for the injured, and said, "Let's see for how long those heartless people and their supporters would justify this negligence despite knowing everything. These are not deaths but murders."
UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu too said that it was "not an accident, but murder."
Lallu also said, "Yesterday, the UP chief minister had said that buses have been pressed into service so that migrant labourers can reach their homes. He has been saying this for some time, but then who is responsible for this accident. The chief minister is responsible for the accident."