New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Dubbing as "absolutely absurd" and "unfortunate" Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's remarks that states should seek his government's permission to hire workers from his state, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said people of Uttar Pradesh are not his "personal property".

The UP chief minister on Sunday had said other states will have to seek his government's permission before hiring workers from his state, comments which evoked sharp reactions from the Congress leaders.

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"It is very unfortunate that the UP chief minister views India in such a way. These people are not his personal property, they are not the personal property of UP, these people are Indian citizens and they have the right to decide what they want to do and they have the right to live the life, they want to live," he said at a virtual press conference.

Asserting that it was the job of the leaders to support these workers and to fulfil their dreams, Gandhi said,"it is not our job to say that you belong to me, and you cannot go and work in Maharashtra, it is an absolutely absurd position".

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"I think it is unfortunate. I think, people are first Indian and then they belong to their states", he said, and added that it was up to the people of India and the people of UP to decide where they want to work and it was not the chief minister's decision.

He said if a citizen of UP wants to go and fulfil his dreams in Maharashtra or in Delhi or in Karnataka or anywhere else, he should have the right to do so.

Upset that migrant labourers were "not properly taken care of" by various states in the wake of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Adityanath had said, "these workers are our biggest resource and will give them employment in Uttar Pradesh as state government is going to set up a commission for their employment."

 "They are our people... and if some states want them back, they have to seek permission from the state government," Adityanath said during an interaction with the RSS- affiliated publications 'Panchjanya' and 'Organiser' on Sunday.

Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar in a series of tweets also hit out at the UP CM for his remarks. "UP CM Yogi Adityanath's move to restrict hiring people of UP is unconstitutional and goes against the right to freedom of movement. Mr Yogi, please note that UP is not the private property of your govt", he tweeted. "The people of UP don't need your govt's permission to work anywhere in India. Mr Yogi doesn't understand the basic rules of governance in a democracy," Shivakumar added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)