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Kota mission a success, says Yogi after Nitish objections
A day after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar purportedly objected to the UP government’s move to bring back about 11,000 students from Kota in Rajasthan, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the decision was taken in coordination with the centre and the Rajasthan government.
A day after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar purportedly objected to the UP government’s move to bring back about 11,000 students from Kota in Rajasthan, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the decision was taken in coordination with the centre and the Rajasthan government.
He also said his government was holding consultations on lifting restrictions in a phased manner after May 3.
“There was opposition to the UP government’s move from many quarters. But we coordinated with the union and Rajasthan governments and brought you (students) back to Uttar Pradesh,” Yogi said while interacting with some of the students who have returned from Kota.
Although Yogi did not name any individual or government for objecting to the move, he was purportedly referring to observations made by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar about Uttar Pradesh’s move at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with chief ministers on Monday.
Kumar had said that it would not be possible to bring back anybody, including students, from places such as Kota, and migrant workers stranded elsewhere, till the central government amended or issued fresh directives in this regard.
Replying to questions from the students, Yogi said his government was holding consultations with the council of ministers and the centre about lifting restrictions in a phased manner after May 3 in areas that have no cases of Covid-19. He admitted to the students, too, that there were objections to his government’s move to bring them back.
“There were objections from some quarters. But the state government decided to bring the students back,” he said while replying to a question from one student named Nidhi of Varanasi.
The chief minister said his government was sensitive to problems of people and the decision to bring back students was a success story for the administration and families of the students.
He said the government would complete the process of sending students stuck in Prayagraj back to their homes by Wednesday. He asked the students to adhere to social distancing norms during home quarantine.
“We are working on a programme to ensure that UP’s students are able to prepare for competitive examinations,” said Yogi.
He also briefed the students about how UP was better than other states in checking the spread of crornavirus. “UP has the largest population in the country. But we have been able to check the spread of coronavirus vis-a-vis some states where the virus is spreading at a faster pace,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yashvir Tyagi, former economics professor of Lucknow University, said: “The Bihar chief minister has no reason to object to the state government’s decision to bring back its students when the Rajasthan government was ready to send them back. Moreover, this was in coordination with the centre and the step has been taken with a specific purpose. Youngsters are future of the country and the government, too, cares for them.”
“Besides working on options of taking help of retired teachers, the state government should get in touch with leading online coaching institutes and also subsidise the fees. Attention should be paid to bringing about an improvement in internet connectivity for those living in rural areas,” said Tyagi.
