‘I’m Indira Gandhi’s Granddaughter’: Priyanka Hits Back at UP Govt

The UP child rights body had sent Priyanka Gandhi a notice over her post on the Kanpur shelter home incident.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi.

(Photo: PTI)

A day after the Uttar Pradesh child rights body slapped a notice on Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress leader slammed back saying she is "Indira Gandhi's granddaughter" and nothing will stop her from telling the truth.

The UP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UPSCPCR) on Thursday, 25 June, sent a notice to Gandhi regarding her Facebook post in which she criticised the Kanpur shelter home incident where 57 girls tested positive for COVID-19.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that the government was wasting time threatening her as they would not have much of an effect on her. 

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the Congress' eastern Uttar Pradesh in-charge said, "My duty as a public servant is to the people of UP, and that duty is to put the truth before them. And not to peddle any government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me..."

“Do whatever you want to do. I will keep bringing the truth to the fore. I am the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, not an informal BJP spokesperson from an opposition party.”

Priyanka Gandhi, in a tweet

The Commission has asked the Congress leader to issue a corrigendum to her post within three days or face action under the Child Protection Act (Section 13).

The notice sent by Chairman of the Commission, Vishesh Gupta, said that the UPSCPCR had taken suo motu cognisance of her post in which she had compared the Kanpur shelter home to the Muzaffarpur (Bihar) shelter home incident.

Gupta said that while 57 girls had tested positive for coronavirus and were being treated as per the protocols, the report that one of the girls had tested positive for HIV was also baseless and wrong.

Gupta further said that comparing the Kanpur incident with Deoria in UP and Muzaffarpur in Bihar was completely "baseless and unjustified".

“Two girls were already pregnant when they were brought to the shelter home a few months ago and it was wrong to insinuate any sexual exploitation in the shelter home.” 

The letter added

The letter further said that Priyanka Gandhi's remarks on social media has caused considerable anguish to the concerned inmates.

Earlier this week, the District Magistrate of Agra, Prabhu Narain Singh, had asked Priyanka Gandhi to apologise for her post in which she had stated that 28 deaths had taken place in Agra within 48 hours.

The Congress leader has been critical of the state government in the recent past as she has highlighted the issue of irregularities in the teacher recruitment examination, handling of migrant workers and others. She had also locked horns with the state government in mid May over the issue of providing 1,000 buses to the state government for transporting the stranded migrants.