Coronavirus lockdown: UP Congress chief arrested for protest over buses for migrants

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Kumar Lallu was booked on Wednesday, a day after he was detained for staging a protest related to his party’s offer to ferry migrant workers in buses, reported PTI. Senior party leaders Pradeep Mathur, Vivek Bansal and Manoj Dixit were also arrested.

“A case has been registered against Lallu under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Act at the Fatehpur Sikri police station,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Agra, Babloo Kumar said.

“Lallu was arrested on Tuesday evening and he along with other Congress leaders were put in the Police Line in Agra.”

On Tuesday, Lallu and several other Congress leaders were detained for protesting on the Bharatpur- Agra highway against the Uttar Pradesh government’s allegations that the list of buses provided by the Congress contained registration numbers of autorickshaws and cars. A video shared by Congress leader Nadeem Javed showed four police officers carrying Lallu to their car.

The Adityanath-led government and the Congress have been wrangling over the transportation arrangements for stranded migrant workers. This began with party leader Priyanka Gandhi’s Vadra’s offer to provide 1,000 buses to the state government. A day after accepting the Congress’s offer of 1,000 buses, the UP government on Tuesday tweaked its instructions...

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