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HomePoliticsGorakhpur deaths: Mum’s the word in Yogi govt to counter negative publicity 

Gorakhpur deaths: Mum’s the word in Yogi govt to counter negative publicity 

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The CM is said to have directed MLAs, party leaders to avoid talking about tragedy to avoid further trouble

In a bid to avoid further embarrassment to his government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is managing the Gorakhpur crisis himself, with the support of his trusted lieutenants, sources said Wednesday.

There are five assembly segments under the Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency. But none of the MLAs have come out in defence of the state government.

Sources told ThePrint that there is a clear instruction from the CM that no MLA or party leader from Gorakhpur should talk about the issue as it will create more trouble and give opposition parties a chance to attack the government.

Instead, they have been asked to focus on other “relevant issues” and highlight them in the media to prevent further damage to the government’s image.

The MLAs have been told to complete their ongoing work under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna in their constituencies.

“We are holding meetings and the list of beneficiaries under PMAY will be finalised in the next two weeks,” said Sheetal Pandey, MLA of Sahjanwa. “Apart from that, we are monitoring the flood situation in our area and taking necessary steps to prevent damage.”

Pandey said the CM can manage everything himself.

“Yogiji is from Gorakhpur. He knows it much better than any one of us. He can defend himself,” he added.

ThePrint spoke to four MLAs and all of them echoed this view.

“Yogiji directly talks to government officers and instructs them what to do,” said one of the legislators. “When the chief minister is from your district, your job is limited to just sending requests for work to be done in the constituency and deal with officers at the block level.”

The chief minister doesn’t interact much with the MLAs and they are usually called when required. He depends on his “sources” — Dwarka Tiwari and P.K. Mall— for information.

Tiwari is CM’s officer on special duty, who handles public complaints at the Gorakhnath temple. Mall is the chief of Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), an outfit founded by Adityanath.

“I attend to complains of the people here. Being a member of his team, Yogiji calls me every day,” said Tiwari. “My entire day is spent in resolving public problems. I have no time for anything else.”

Mall too played down the entire issue.

“I am not a crisis manager and there is no crisis as such,” said Mall.

“What happened in Gorakhpur is unfortunate. Death of even one child is painful. But how is maharaj-ji (CM) responsible for that,” he asked.

Mall and other workers of his organisation update the CM’s office on the current flood situation in and around Gorakhpur district. But, they are also silently working to counter the negative publicity being faced by the government.

“Media is not presenting the facts and we need to communicate this to the people,” Mall said.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini is planning to intensify the Swachhta (cleanliness) drive over the next few days. Plans are also afoot to create a team of six members, comprising villagers, government officials, health and social workers to track encephalitis patients in all the blocks of the 18 affected districts of UP. The team will identify patients and take them to hospitals.

Meanwhile, opposition parties slammed the state government’s “silence” over the Gorakhpur crisis.

Avadhesh Yadav, secretary and former Gorakhpur district president of Samajwadi Party, said, “When you treat a person like god, you lose the right to question. This is the problem BJP leaders are facing in Gorakhpur. Who will take the responsibility for the death of so many children? They have nothing to answer, hence they are silent.”

Saiyed Jamal Ahmad, district Congress president, said his party would continue to protest till responsibility for this tragedy is fixed. “If they think that by keeping mum on the issue would help avoid public scrutiny, they are wrong. We will keep raising it till responsibility is fixed.”

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