Congress puts Centre on spot with rail fare offer

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

A political tug-of-war erupted today over charging of fare by the Railways from homebound migrant workers with the Congress offering to pay for it amid a counter from the BJP that the Centre and states were bearing the travel charge even as Bihar announced its contribution to help the distressed people.

Amid reports that migrant workers were being charged for the home journey, Congress president Sonia Gandhi set the ball rolling saying when the government could spend Rs 100 crore to ferry people for a Gujarat event (Trump reception) and the Railways donate Rs 151 crore to PM-CARES, “why can’t these essential members of our nation’s fabric be given a fraction of the same courtesy, especially free rail travel, at this hour of acute distress”.

This was followed by Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel directing party state units to mobilise funds and its general secretary KC Venugopal asking Pradesh Congress Committees to work with state chief secretaries and the Railways and pay for the travel cost.

As Karnataka state unit took the lead, many party leaders hailed the move with former Union Minister P Chidambaram terming Sonia’s decision as “historic” and one that “puts the government of India to shame”.

On its part, the Centre said it did not talk about charging anything from migrant workers since the Railways was bearing 85 per cent of the transportation cost and state governments paying the rest.

Health Ministry spokesperson Lav Aggarwal said based on the request from states for particular cases, permission was granted to run special trains. The process started under which a limited number of stranded migrant labourers had been transported.

Yet on the social media, people put out an order that stipulates states to collect fares from workers on completion of journey, while some flashed a photo of a ticket with fare on it. As Rahul Gandhi joined issue, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra responded with the Home Ministry guidelines saying state governments could pay for the ticket, just as MP was, since it was the responsibility of states to clear the price for 1,200 tickets given by the Railways for each special train.

Already under attack from the RJD that offered to underwrite cost of trains for five days, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said the state government was not charging either students or migrant workers.

The government was paying to the Railways for student while it would reimburse the workers after completion of mandatory quarantine period, he said after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav mocked Kumar for expressing inability to ferry stranded workers in buses like other states.

Migrants take to streets in Ludhiana

• Hundreds of irate migrant workers blocked National Highway No. 44 in Ludhiana on Sunday over failure of the authorities to provide them ration and for not making arrangement to shift them to their native places.

2 cops hurt in Y’nagar, migrants hurl stones

• More than 100 migrant workers blocked the Kurukshetra road in Yamunanagar on Monday. The police used mild force to disperse them. Two cops were injured. P8

In Surat, workers clash with police

• Impatient to return home, migrant workers pelted stones at the police in Surat district of Gujarat on Monday, leaving 11 personnel injured, one of them an IPS officer.

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