UP, Rajasthan in fresh row over migrants' buses

The Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan governments sparred on Friday over a Congress attempt to arrange 1,000 buses for the transport of migrant workers walking to their homes in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled UP after being stranded by the lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Rajasthan Congress president and deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot accused the Yogi Adityanath government of engaging in petty politics by denying entry to the vehicles which the Congress wanted to run at its expense.

The UP administration claimed many of the buses were Rajasthan-registered vehicles and accused the Congress of misusing the government machinery in the neighbouring state.