In a press statement, Satish Chandra Dwivedi, the Uttar Pradesh minister of state (independent charge) for basic education, has dismissed the alleged deaths of 1,621 teachers during the poll duties in the recently held panchayat elections in the state.
“Officials of a few teachers associations are claiming deaths of 1,621 of teachers during panchayat elections in the state. This is completely wrong and baseless. As per the list provided by the district magistrates to the state election commission, only three teachers have died during the poll duty,” said the minister in a press note dated May 19.
He also informed that the families of three deceased teachers would receive a compensation of Rs 30 lakh and a government job.
On April 25, the state government had blamed the Allahabad High Court for forcing it to hold the panchayat elections. In a press statement, the state government said: “Contrary to the misinformation campaign against the Yogi government, the decision to conduct the elections of the Gram Panchayats stemmed from the directions of the Allahabad High Court to the Government of the State of Uttar Pradesh.”
Meanwhile, several opposition leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee and Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party have criticised the state government for not taking due note of the teachers deaths.
In his statement, the minister of basic education has said that the opposition leaders were playing politics on the basis of ‘misleading’ information.
Yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Department had also issued a press statement informing only three teachers had died during the poll duty. This statement came two days after a state-level teachers’ association claimed that 1,621 government teachers died of COVID-19 following panchayat elections’ poll duty.
“Based on these guidelines of the state election commission, the district magistrates have so far sent a list of only three dead teachers… Families of these dead teachers would be compensated,” reads the basic education department’s May 18 press note. It also appealed the people not to believe ‘rumours’ or unverified news on the subject matter.
In response to the recent press note by the state government, the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, a state level teachers’ association, which wrote to the state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on May 16 sharing a list of 1,621 dead teachers, has decided to step up its protest.
“Isse bada ghotala dekha hai apne? [Have you ever seen such a scam?] Our people have died. Will we just sit and watch? They were our members. Won’t we take responsibility for their families? Dinesh Chandra Sharma, president of the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, told Gaon Connection. “We will continue our fight till they get their rights. If necessary, we will come on roads,” he added.
The teachers’ association has demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore each [Rs 10 million] to the families of the deceased.
