Sonbhadra firing case: Mayawati directs BSP Assembly members to provide all possible aid to victims

BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday slammed the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for imposing Section 144 in Sonbhadra district and said it was an attempt to hide its failures in providing safety and security to the people.

She also said that a delegation of her party's Assembly members have been directed to provide all possible aid to those affected in the firing incident that took place in Sonbhadra earlier this week.

"The Uttar Pradesh government is not allowing anyone to go to Sonbhadra by imposing Section 144 to hide its failure in providing safety and security to people. However, BSP Assembly members have been directed to provide all possible aid to Sonbhadra victims. Government negligence is the main reason for this massacre," BSP chief wrote on her official Twitter handle in Hindi.

"In Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra, tribals were oppressed, exploited and evicted from their land and now the massacre is proof of the failure of the state government's law. Not only UP, the people of the country are too worried, while the interest of the ST section was also taken care of during the BSP government," Maywati said in another twitter posting.

On Friday, Congress general secretary Priyanka was detained on her way to meet the kin of those killed in the July 17 Sonbhadra firing incident citing imposition of Section 144 in the area, which prohibits movement of more than four people in the area. She was escorted to Mirzapur by Uttar Pradesh Police from Vanaras.

The Congress leader, who had spent a night at the Chunnar Guest House in Mirzapur, said that she will meet Sonbhadra firing incident victims and families of the deceased and if the government wants to put her in jail then she is fully prepared for it. She further said that she will not pay the bail amount at any cost.

The firing incident took place in Ubbha village of Ghorawal where the village head went to take possession of his land purchased two years ago. However, he met with opposition from the villagers which triggered the firing allegedly by his aides leading to the deaths of around nine persons.