Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said she will be back to visit the villagers at Umbha in Sonbhadra after Mirzapur district authorities who detained her overnight at the Chunar fort, about 40 km Southwest of Varanasi, said she was free to go
Her reaction came after the District Magistrate said that she had not been arrested and that except Mirzapur, she was free to go wherever she wished.
“Those officials who tried to stop me from meeting the families (of Sonbhadra firing victims) are now saying that I was not arrested and that I am free to go. I want to tell them that I have met the families, and for now I am going but I will be back” said Priyanka Gandhi while addressing the media after meeting the kin of victims.
She also demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the next of kin those killed in a clash over land in Umbha village in UP’s Sonbhadra and announced that the Congress with pay these families Rs 10 lakh each.
“The Uttar Pradesh Government should provide compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to next of kin of those killed in Sonbhadra,” she told reporters after meeting families of the victims in Chunar fort where she has been detained. “Congress will pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to next of kin of Sonbharda firing victims.”
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She also demanded that tribals should get right to land that they have cultivated for ages and called upon the Yogi Adityanath government to withdraw cases filed against families of the victims.
“A thorough and fair probe should be carried in this case and tribals should get justice,” she said.
Earlier around noon after a long standoff with the administration in the Chunar fort guest house Priyanka Gandhi met family members of the 10 people killed in Umbha village.
Some of the family members of the victims killed in the land dispute broke down while meeting Priyanka Gandhi who offered them water.
“We are with you. We will be your voice,” she consoled them.
Watch | Sonbhadra victim’s families break down after meeting Priyanka Gandhi
People from Umbha village had arrived at the Chunar fort, 40 km Southwest of Varanasi, in the morning where the Congress leader was holding a sit-in protest as she was stopped and detained on Friday while she was on her way to meet the Sonbhadra firing victims’ kin.
“I had come to visit them, and now they are here to see me, but they are not being allowed to meet me, I do not understand why the administration is not letting them meet me,” Piryanka Gandhi told reporters ahead of meeting the victims’ kin.
Earlier in the morning, Priyanka insisted that she won’t return without visiting Umbha village.
Follow live updates of Priyanka Gandhi’s protest here
“I will not go back without visiting Umbha village. I can meet the members of victims’ families elsewhere. The administration should make arrangement for that. I can go to the village alone,” she said. “The administration has not shown me any papers about why they detained me.”
She also took on the ruling BJP for not meeting the families of the victims. “Not even a single BJP MLA, MP or chief minister Yogi Adityanath has visited the families of the victims to know about their condition. I am here to express my solidarity with the people of Umbha village. We will become the voice of the people because the Yogi government is trying to silence them,” she said.
As the controversy over her detention escalated, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said he was heading to join her in her protest.
In the morning, Congress workers raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath .
First Published:
Jul 20, 2019 11:01 IST
Source: HindustanTimes