Lucknow, May 1 (IANS): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has demanded that a special assembly session be convened immediately to discuss the prevailing situation and formulating a joint strategy to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Akhilesh Yadav said that the Yogi Adityanath government has already convened two special sessions on the sustainable development goals (SDG) of the United Nations on October 2 and 3 last year and on the Constitution Day on November 26 last year. Thus, convening special sessions on major issues should not be a problem.
The Samajwadi Party chief said: "Uttar Pradesh, the sixth most populated state in the world, is facing an unprecedented crisis. The Opposition has been continuously giving suggestions to the state government on novel Coronavirus. This is going to be a long-drawn battle and the special assembly session will help in getting views of every legislator who is a public representative. The problems being faced at the grassroots level will also be placed during the session."
He further said that the special session would also provide an opportunity to the state government to draw up a collective action plan.
He said, "It seems that chief minister Yogi Adityanath does not believe in democratic functioning. Instead of involving his own ministers and MLAs in the battle against Corona, he has chosen to rely completely on a few officers who have failed to deliver anything substantial."
He asked, "What is the Team-11 been doing when people are ending their lives in quarantine and the poor are starving? It is a blot on the government if migrant workers are being forced to walk hundreds of kilometers to their homes, without any arrangement for food and water."
The SP president said that his party would definitely raise all these issues if the special session is held.
He stated that the BJP government lacked a roadmap for dealing with the new coronavirus pandemic. It also lacked a political will to revive the economy.
He regretted that even during these testing times, reports are pouring in about the purchase of sub-standard medical equipment and PPE kits.
Akhilesh stated that it was unfortunate that BJP leaders are seen advising people to boycott traders and businessmen of one particular community which proves that the ruling party is not missing any opportunity to use a pandemic for petty political gains.