E-Paper
Possible post-lockdown labour shortage worries BJP in Bihar
Party functionaries in Bihar, for instance, have apprised the central leadership that if migrant workers from the state are allowed to return home in large numbers, it may spell trouble for industry in the western region.
As more and more state governments bring back migrant workers stranded in other states owing to the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have expressed concern that their return may set back efforts to restart the economy when the restrictions are eased after May 3.
Party functionaries in Bihar, for instance, have apprised the central leadership that if migrant workers from the state are allowed to return home in large numbers, it may spell trouble for industry in the western region.
“There are lakhs of workers from Bihar who are employed in the industrial, agriculture and construction sectors in states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. If all of them are brought back, they may not return for three or four months, and then the festive season begins post-October; so that might add to the delay in their return {to places of work},” a party functionary said on condition of anonymity.
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have announced they are chalking out plans to bring back their migrant workers stuck in other states and Chhattisgarh said it had sought permission to carry out a similar exercise, entailing the return of tens of thousands of workers who left their places of work in distress after the lockdown.took force. In Bihar, the authorities have cited the lockdown protocol as a reason for not making provisions to bring back workers.
A second BJP functionary from Bihar, where state assembly elections are due later this year, said the party unit had urged the government to ensure that economic activity picks up in areas that are not classified as Covid-19 hotspots so that the workers get an incentive to stay back instead of heading home.
“Once there is engagement and activity a lot of workers who are currently under stress will not push for going back to their native places. Of course, all the work will have to be undertaken after following the required protocol,” the second functionary said, also requesting anonymity.
Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been critical of his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath when he sent buses to bring back students of coaching centres stuck in Kota, Rajasthan, earlier this month.
An ally of the BJP, the JD(U), which has been criticised for not taking steps to bring back its own migrant workers, believes that once the workers are back in the state, a substantial number will stay on. A large number of workers from Bihar are in Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and West Bengal.
“There are many opportunities for earning in Bihar in the irrigation sector, in agriculture, road and bridge construction under MGNREGA. We are actually not facing labour shortfall in Bihar this time,” said Sanjay Kumar Jha, minister of water resources and the national general secretary of JD(U).
He said that contrary to the perception that the state has not done enough for migrant workers from the state, the Bihar administration has made arrangements for providing food and shelter to the workers who had returned from other states and transferred Rs 1,000 each to the accounts of 1.4 million people.
Bihar has been following the lockdown protocol specified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jha said, and took a swipe at other states for neglecting the safety of migrant workers and not making adequate provisions for them.
“We have been following the protocol in letter and in spirit. It is ironic that people who were seen a wealth creators and were active participants in building roads and infrastructure became a liability overnight,” he said.
