In a fresh attack on the Congress over the issue of the party offering to provide buses to ferry migrant workers, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday accused the Congress-ruled Rajasthan of charging it for providing additional buses to bring students stranded in Kota back home.
U.P. Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said the State government had sent 560 buses to Rajasthan to bring back students in Kota in April. However, the number of students there turned out to be more than they expected. The government was prepared to bring back 8,000-10,000 students but found the number to be 12,000, following which it requested the Rajasthan government for 94 buses.
The Rajasthan government agreed to it but asked for a payment for it along with a written appeal for the buses, said Mr. Sharma.
The U.P. government then paid ₹19.76 lakh for diesel and ₹36.36 lakh for buses to Rajasthan. This reflected the “dual mindset” of the Congress. Its leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was offering to send buses to U.P. free of cost, while the Congress-ruled Rajasthan had sent bills to U.P. for providing buses for students, he said.
“On the one hand, you are charging money. On the other, with what intention and for what reason are you sending buses to the border,” Mr. Sharma asked at a press conference.
Ashok Kataria, U.P. Transport minister, said the Rajasthan government could have offered to transport the students to U.P. free of cost if the Congress was actually sensitive towards them.
