Sonia Gandhi's move forces central government to bear 85% of cost
of migrant travel, states to bear 15%.
It took a nuanced
decision by the Congress
to make the Central government clear its position on paying for migrant
workers’ train journeys back home.
Ending its
ambivalence on transporting them on Shramik Special trains during the lockdown,
the Union government on Monday said their travel was free and the cost for it
would be shared by the Centre and the states.
This was after the government came under political pressure, with Congress President Sonia Gandhi instructing the state units of the party to bear the cost of such rail travel.
Gandhi criticised
the railways’ move to donate to the PM’s corona fund, while continuing to
charge the migrants.
“When our
government can recognise its responsibility by arranging free air travel for
our citizens stranded abroad, when the Government can spend nearly Rs 100 crore
on transport and food etc. for just one public programme in Gujarat, when the
Rail Ministry has the largesse to donate Rs 151 crore to the PM’s Corona fund,
then 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?” she said in her letter.
Starting May 1,
labourers were being charged sleeper-class fares of superfast trains and an
additional Rs 50 to send them to their destination.
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