Migrant workers train: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Congress-ruled states and the Mamata Banerjee government of not granting permission to Shramik Special trains to enter their states. Addressing the media here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the Centre is running special trains to ferry migrants back home but it is unfortunate that a few states are not accepting them.
Patra explained that to run a Shramik Special train, approval is required from the originating state and the culminating state, but West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and others are not giving permission.
“Migrant workers who are on roads can reach their native villages easily, but it is not happening. Why? Because a few states, Congress-ruled states and TMC are giving priority to politics rather than helping them,” he said.
Patra said that migrants who are facing the brunt are mostly from states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. He said that these states have disowned their own people.
“To run a Shramik express, you need permission from two governments – from the originating state and the state where it will culminate. I am sad to inform you that states from where these trains are to be originated are giving permission, but the states receiving these trains are not giving permission,” he said.
Patra said that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar governments have done a commendable job to bring their people back from different cities. He said, “In Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government granted permission to 487 trains to enter the state. Migrants hailing from Uttar Pradesh are able to return to their native homes because the Yogi Adityanath government is granting permission.”
“The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has given permission to 254 trains to enter the state. However, opposed to this, Mamata Banerjee has allowed only 9 trains to enter the state,” Patra said.
“The Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, the government has allowed entry to only 10 trains,” he said, adding that the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand which enjoys the support of the Congress has allowed only 48 trains to enter the state from different cities.
Blaming Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Mamta Banerjee for migrants woes, he said, “Respected Sonia and Mamata ji, your leaders are doing politics and speaking publicly but why the governments are not allowing permission to trains? Despite MHA and Piyush Goyal’s intervention, Mamata is not taking steps. This is the reason why migrants are suffering on roads.”
“Mamata and Sonia are responsible for migrants woes,” he said. “It will not be wrong to say certain states ruled by the congress have disowned their own people,” Patra thundered.