Never coined Corona Express, people did: Mamata Banerjee on attack by Amit Shah

Banerjee also announced that the period of institutional quarantine for migrant workers returning from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu was being reduced to one week from 14 days.

A day after Union home minister Amit Shah took a jibe at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for dubbing Shramik Special trains as “Corona Express”, Banerjee on Wednesday issued a rejoinder saying that the term was not her coinage and she was merely voicing the people’s opinion.

In May, while pinning the blame of rising coronavirus cases in the state on the railways, Banerjee had accused the national carrier of running “Corona Express trains” and not Shramik Specials. (SAMIR JANA/HT PHOTO.)

Banerjee also announced that the period of institutional quarantine for migrant workers returning from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu was being reduced to one week from 14 days. They would be tested for Covid-19 within that period.

“I never coined the term Corona Express. I said that the public was saying so,” Banerjee said while adding that had the BJP-led union government run the Shramik Special trains for a week before announcing the pan-India lockdown then labourers would not have suffered for three months.

Shah, while addressing Tuesday’s virtual rally had said that the term “Corona Express”, which Banerjee had used to refer to trains ferrying migrant workers, will turn into an “exit express” for the Trinamool Congress in Bengal.

In May, while pinning the blame of rising coronavirus cases in the state on the railways, Banerjee had accused the national carrier of running “Corona Express trains” and not Shramik Specials. The chief minister had accused the railways of packing in more than 2,000 migrants in one train against the capacity of 1,200, instead of increasing the frequency and number of trains to cater to the rush.

Around 11 lakh people, including migrant labourers, have entered the state in trains and buses during the lockdown. Another 30,000 is expected to arrive in the next three days in 22 trains, taking the total number of trains to Bengal to 255.

Banerjee also said that state government offices will now operate in two shifts to bring down the rush during office hours, which is frequently leading to overcrowding in buses. Kolkata, with 3,018 cases out of the 8,985 cases in Bengal till June 9, has been registering the highest spike in Covid-19 cases every day.

While the first shift would operate from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, the second shift would operate from 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Previously, government offices used to run from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm.

“I would also urge the private sector to allow their employees to work from home to reduce the rush on the roads and public conveyance. Only those employees must be allowed for whom it is absolutely necessary to come to office. The rest 50% to 70% of the work force can work from home. This is my appeal,” she said.