On Monday, the ruling
Congress party, which shares power with the
Shiv Sena and the
NCP, retaliated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion in Parliament that Congress provided free train tickets to migrant workers fleeing Mumbai during the first wave of COVID-19.
"We are delighted that the Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government did what the Centre should have done," said Congress Legislature Party leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat. The Prime Minister's language is unfit for the position; he should not fall to such low levels in politics. It was his sorry attempt to hide the Central Government's failure."
According to Thorat, the Congress party and the MVA government organised for the lodging of migrant workers who wished to return to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar after the sudden announcement of lockdown. "On their dime, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee dispatched approximately 50,000 workers to their respective areas. Later, the MVA government-supplied assistance, and its efforts were lauded around the world," he added. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has demonstrated his dogmatic mindset by attacking the Congress," he alleged.
Thorat claimed that the central government, which was supposed to make plans for the workers' evacuation via train and other modes of transportation during this time, abdicated its duties and allowed the people to perish. The NCP, on the other hand, slammed Modi, claiming that he used Parliament to spread election misinformation. The Prime Minister delivered his remarks in the context of the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
"Migrant workers from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and many other states with the means went to their villages, occasionally strolling the streets, due to the nightly lockdown decision. So, PM Modi cited poll-bound Punjab, UP, and Uttarakhand merely to elicit people's compassion," claimed Jayant Patil, state NCP President.
Patil said that once the lockdown was imposed, the Centre ran Shramik Trains that left from Gujarat as well. The majority of those trains left Gujarat and headed for Uttar Pradesh. "On September 16, 2020, the government gave information to Parliament in this regard." However, no trains were organised for Punjab because very few Punjabi’s work in other states. Many employees from the northern states, on the other hand, travel to Punjab to work in the agricultural sector. In light of the elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttarakhand alone, it is not proper for heads of state to make negative and false statements against Maharashtra in Parliament," he said.
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