E-Paper
Amit Shah to Mamata Banerjee: Not getting ‘expected support’ from Bengal
The state government is doing “injustice” to Bengali migrant workers stranded across the country by not allowing “Shramik” (worker) trains run by the railways to reach the state, Shah wrote in the letter, according to MHA officials.
Union home minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee that the Centre was not receiving the “expected support” from her government in helping migrant workers reach home.
The state government is doing “injustice” to Bengali migrant workers stranded across the country by not allowing “Shramik” (worker) trains run by the railways to reach the state, Shah wrote in the letter, according to MHA officials.
Shah said the Centre had already facilitated the return home of more than 200,000 workers, adding that migrants from West Bengal employed elsewhere too were eager to go back home.
“West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them,”Shah wrote.
States with large migrant populations like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have received the maximum number of workers returning home on Shramik trains.West Bengal, senior officials said, has received only two special of the special trains so far and hasn’t cleared any more trains. Until Friday, more than 250,000 migrants had been sent home on 251 Shramik trains.
The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the state’s efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The two sides have clashed over a visit by interministerial central teams (IMCTs) for an assessment of the situation in seven West Bengal districts. While the teams claimed that they didn’t get any support from the state government in assessing measures put in place to control Covid-19, the state government accused the Centre of politicising a public health crisis.
Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla also on Thursday slammed the West Bengal government for a very low rate of testing and high rate of mortality – 13.2%, - by far the highest for any state. The Centre has also accused the Trinamool Congress government of not allowing cross-border movement of goods trucks to Bangladesh, potentially jeoparadising trade commitments made to the neighbour..
Bengal has reported 1,678 Covid-19 positive cases and 160 deaths until Saturday morning.
The ministry of home affairs has told all the states that inter-state movement of only distressed migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists, who had moved from their home towns or workplaces before the coronavirus lockdown took effect on March 25, and could not return on account of restrictions, is allowed.
