Opposition parties have called the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowing the State governments to ferry back those stranded a hogwash and a measure to buy more time.
State-wise tracker for COVID-19 cases, deaths and testing, and a map of confirmed cases in India
Congress Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said that at best it’s a half-hearted measure. “The fact that it took 36 days for the government to respond to the plight of the migrant workers shows both apathy and a lack of planning before the lockdown. Even now, it’s a half-hearted attempt. Why aren't special trains being deployed? Many State govts have asked for it,” he told The Hindu .
Also read:Lockdown: MP brings back over 20,000 stranded migrant workers
The orders, Congress spokesperson and Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari said, showed utter lack of coherence or strategy. “How many inter-State meetings has the MHA held so far? Does the government have data on migrant workers, about who from which district is stranded where? And is it safe to cover long distances in buses?”. All these problems should have been anticipated when the lockdown was first announced on March 24.
TMC MP and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said that if the government was indeed serious, they would have considered trains and not specified that only buses can be used. Whether the order would actually be implemented or not was anyone’s guess. “Buses are not the answer. This will only create confusion and not a solution. They are merely buying time. There was too much pressure on the Union government to come up with a policy on migrant workers, so they brought out this order,” he added.
Also read:Migrants’ return home will lead to fourth lockdown: Bihar BJP chief
‘Centre not spending’
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury called the order condescending, coming after days of suffering for the migrant workers and others stranded miles away from their homes. He questioned the fact that the Centre had delegated it to the States instead of taking the initiative.
Also read | Returning migrants a threat to rural areas: MHA
“The Centre will not spend a paisa, or give them their dues, while Modi writes off loans of thousands of crores looted by cronies like ‘Mehul bhai’. ₹68,000 crore of loans taken by cronies have been written off by this govt but no money to pay States?” he said in a tweet.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said the Centre had virtually abdicated its responsibility of helping the migrant workers or assisting the States in this time of crisis. “In both the interactions the Chief Ministers had with the Prime Minister, the main issue of contention was lack of financial aid to the States. They can’t deceive people who are in unimaginable misery. The hunger deaths are rising and its the Union government which announced the lockdown. So it’s their responsibility to take every one home.”
RJD national spokesperson and MP Manoj K Jha said that ideally the movement of migrant workers should have happened in a staggered manner right from day one. “The trains should not have been shut. If the trains were allowed, social distancing and other norms could easily be maintained while travelling long distances.”
