Ready to go to jail again for the poor: UPCC chief

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Kumar Lallu said here on Thursday that he was "ready to go to jail a thousand times" but would not bow before the "anti-poor" policies of the Yogi Adityanath government.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the UPCC chief said, "The Yogi Adityanath government kept me in jail for 27 days. I was not even allowed to meet my lawyers. If my fault was that I was working for migrant workers, I will continue doing the same. I have worked as a labourer myself and know the hardships they face."

The UPCC president was released from jail late on Wednesday evening after he got bail from the High Court.

He was arrested on May 20 by the Lucknow police on charges of fraud and forgery in the list of 1,000 buses that he had submitted to the state government.

The Congress, on the directives of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had arranged for buses for migrant labourers and when the list was given to the state government, it was said that the registration numbers were allotted to two-wheelers, autos and ambulances.

Lallu said that no government could prevent him for continuing to work for the poor and the downtrodden.

He thanked party workers who had launched the 'Sewa Satyagrah' to demand his release and set up community kitchens to provide food to the poor during the campaign.

( With inputs from IANS )