india

Updated: Aug 13, 2019 08:15 IST

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday will visit Umbha village in Sonbhadra to meet the families of the victims who were killed in firing over a land dispute on July 17.

Congress unit of Sonbhadra district has completed the preparations for Priyanka’s visit.

A senior administrative officer of Sonbhadra confirmed the development. Priyanka will reach the village on Tuesday afternoon.

Priyanka will visit houses of all 10 people that were killed and those injured in the firing. She will spend around one and a half hour in the village.

The Congress general secretary was not allowed to visit the village on July 19. She was detained in Naryanpur of Mirzapur district and was taken to Chunar fort, where she staged a dharna against the detention. On July 20, at Chunar Fort, she had met the kin of the families of the deceased.

Then Priyanka had said, “I will visit the village in near future.”

She announced that the Congress would provide Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those killed. On July 27, a delegation of Congress reached the village and provided a cheque worth Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the victims and a cheque worth Rs 1 lakh to those injured in the firing.

On July 17, 10 people of Umbha were killed and 21 others were injured in a firing over the land dispute.

BJP says Congress is doing cheap politics over Umbha. BJP state spokesperson Dr Chandramohan said that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should apologize for the land scam occurred during the rule of Congress. Had she really been concerned for problems of people, she would have regretted the irregularities occurred during the rule of the Congress.

Interacting with media persons at Lucknow, Dr Chandramohan said Priyanka’s visit to the Sonbhadra is an example of cheap politics of the Congress.

He said the land dispute had begun in 1955 during the rule of Congress when lease of the land was done in the name of a private society. Not only in Sonbhadra, there had been loot of the land in several other areas during the rule of Congress.

“Priyanka Gandhi should tell land of how many poor was freed from the illegal possession. How many poor were given possession of the land? In order to divert attention from any such query, she is trying to find a way. But the character of the Congress has been revealed to the public,” Dr Chandramohan said.

He alleged that the Congress knows only politics of loot. The SP and The BSP are its equal partners in this loot of the Congress.

He said that after the incident came to light, chief minister Yogi Adityanath provided all possible help to the victims. The chief minister has constituted a committee for settlement of the land disputes.

He said that the state government would ensure that the poor and oppressed get their right.