17 MLAs from Uttar Pradesh have set off on a junket abroad on tax payers money at a time farmers in Bundelkhand are battling severe famine and children there are staying alive by eating rotis with salt.
The MLAs led by state Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey have left for Japan, Australia and New Zealand for a 'study tour'of 18 days.
When CNN-IBN asked the Speaker why they were going on a 'study tour' when there is back to back drought in Bundelkhand he said, "The tour is for the benefit of Bundelkhand."
It is reliably learnt that the MLAs are out on a sight-seeing tour of these countries and that most of the expenses will be born by the state government.
Out of 17 MLAs, 15 are from the Samajwadi Party (SP), one is from the Congress, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Pradeep Mathur is the MLA from the Congress and Dalveer Singh from the RLD.
The MLAs from SP, according to reports are: Azam Khan, Sangram Singh Yadav, Ambika Chaudhary, Md. Rehan Naeem, Omprakash Singh, Anup Gupta, Abhishek Mishra, Irfan Solanki, Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, Sukesh Bahadur, Asha Kishor, Aruna Kumari Kori, Pradeep Kumar Dubey, Yogesh Pratap Singh and Chaudhary Fasiha Bashir.
Interestingly, Japan which was included as a 'study tour' destination is not a part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The Akhilesh Yadav government has come under flak from the opposition for allowing the trip at a time the people of Bundelkhand are struggling to get one square meal a day.
Condemning the foreign tour BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "It is unfortunate that UP MLAs left for 'vacation' when people in Bundelkhand are suffering due to drought. They enjoy on foreign trips in the name of study tour and do nothing for the people. It is a sheer waste of money. This is the end of Akhilesh Yadav government and people will give a befitting reply to him in the upcoming election."
Congress party too criticised the Akhilesh Yadav government for allowing the MLAs on foreign tour.
Bundelkhand – which is divided between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – is now battling famine due to consecutive droughts and hailstorms which destroyed crops. CNN-IBN has reported on how food is scarce there and lakhs of people are fleeing the region to survive.
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