India's Congress Leader Slams BJP Gov't for 'Hiding' Numbers of Teachers Who Died on Poll Duty

The deaths of teachers in recently held rural local body polls in Uttar Pradesh has triggered a row as a teachers' organisation and the government are at loggerheads over the numbers. The numbers shared by the government have also drawn strong reactions from the opposition.

The general secretary of India's main opposition party, Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has slammed the government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for playing with the number of deaths of teachers who were deployed on poll duty.

"The insensitive Uttar Pradesh government is claiming that only three teachers died while being on poll duty and the list of 1,621 teachers submitted by the UP Teachers' Association is false. Firstly, the teachers were not given any safety equipment, then they were not provided proper treatment, and now the government is not even honouring their deaths", Gandhi said.

She also shared a letter by the Basic Education Department, saying, per the details provided by the local government official, that only three teachers had died while being on poll duty.

पंचायत चुनाव में ड्यूटी करते हुए मारे गए 1621 शिक्षकों की उप्र शिक्षक संघ द्वारा जारी लिस्ट को संवेदनहीन यूपी सरकार झूठ कहकर मृत शिक्षकों की संख्या मात्र 3 बता रही है।

शिक्षकों को जीते जी उचित सुरक्षा उपकरण और इलाज नहीं मिला और अब मृत्यु के बाद सरकार उनका सम्मान भी छीन रही है। pic.twitter.com/6mpkTsOQV7

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 19, 2021

​After the local body polls, Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, a teachers' body in Uttar Pradesh, said that of all the teachers deployed for poll duty, some 1,621, had died of COVID-19. They also demanded $10 million in compensation for the family members of the teachers who succumbed to the virus.

Both the teachers' body and the opposition politician, have accused the government of be unwilling to give compensation to the deceased.

In a later statement, the Basic Education Department of Uttar Pradesh said the duration of election duty only consists of when an employee reaches an election training centre, polling booth or counting centre, and then returns home after the duty. It added that teachers who died during this duration are eligible for compensation.

Refuting the statement by the education department, the teachers' body said that a lot of teachers contracted the virus while on duty and died in hospitals or homes, and therefore, they should also be compensated.

They also accused the officers engaged in verifying the deaths of playing around with the numbers.