Asaduddin Owaisi's dig at BJP after migrant workers' unclaimed bicycles auctioned in UP

Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sadar in Saharanpur Kinshuk Srivastava said ₹21.2 lakh collected through the auction of the bicycles was deposited in the state exchequer.

Updated on: Jun 5, 2022, 17:14:04 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Aniruddha Dhar, New Delhi

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All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the district administration of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh auctioned 5,400 bicycles of migrant labourers from the state and Bihar during Covid-induced lockdown over two years ago.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi. (PTI file)

Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sadar in Saharanpur Kinshuk Srivastava said ₹21.2 lakh collected through the auction of the bicycles was deposited in the state exchequer. “It is now the discretion of the state government how to utilise the money,” the SDM added.

Retweeting a video posted by a journalist, Owaisi wrote, "After selling public-sector enterprises, the bicycles of the poor are being sold. If the BJP could, it will ask for a share in your property."

Saharanpur district is the gateway to Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Around 25,000 labourers of UP and Bihar, who were working in these states, reached Saharanpur riding bicycles on their way back home during the lockdown.

On reaching Saharanpur, they were stopped and quarantined in Radha Swami Satsang enclosures. They were then sent to their native places through buses and tokens were given to them to collect their bicycles on their return.

These bicycles were parked in the open and got rusted in the past two years. Meanwhile, 14,600 labourers came back later and collected their bicycles while the remaining 5,400 bicycles turned into scrap. The SDM said after waiting for two years, the administration decided to auction the bicycles.

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