Rahul Gandhi takes on Centre, says its govt's responsibility to put money into bank accounts of migrants

New Delhi: Congress party on Tuesday demanded financial assistance for migrant workers with it top leader Rahul Gandhi asserting that it is the responsibility of the central government to put money into their bank accounts.

"Migrants are migrating once again. In such a situation, it is the responsibility of the central government to put money into their bank accounts," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet. "But will the government, blaming the people for spreading coronavirus, take such a public assistance measure?" the former Congress chief said.

प्रवासी एक बार फिर पलायन कर रहे हैं। ऐसे में केंद्र सरकार की ज़िम्मेदारी है कि उनके बैंक खातों में रुपय डाले।

लेकिन कोरोना फैलाने के लिए जनता को दोष देने वाली सरकार क्या ऐसा जन सहायक क़दम उठाएगी?#Lockdown — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 20, 2021

As Delhi went into a six-day lockdown from Monday night amid the deteriorating COVID-19 situation, hundreds of migrant workers thronged the Anand Vihar Bus Terminal here to board the buses for their native places.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that looking at the horrifying COVID-19 situation, it was evident that the government would have to take tough decisions like imposing a lockdown, but migrant workers have once again been left to fend for themselves.

"Is this your plan? Policies should be such that they take care of everyone. Financial assistance to the poor, labourers and street hawkers is the need of the hour. Please do this," she said in a tweet in Hindi. 

कोविड की भयावहता देखकर ये तो स्पष्ट था कि सरकार को लॉकडाउन जैसे कड़े कदम उठाने पड़ेंगे लेकिन प्रवासी श्रमिकों को एक बार फिर उनके हाल पर छोड़ दिया। क्या यही आपकी योजना है?

नीतियां ऐसी हों जो सबका ख्याल रखें। गरीबों, श्रमिकों, रेहड़ी वालों को नकद मदद वक्त की मांग है। कृपया ये करिए pic.twitter.com/GtvWKF6mAT — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 20, 2021

It may be noted that migrants had to wait for hours at the bus stop with no choice to maintain social distancing after the announcement of the lockdown in Delhi, UP and other states.

Several parts of the country, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have put lockdowns and similar restrictions in place to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Last year when the nationwide lockdown was imposed migrants left for their hometowns on their bicycle or on foot because there was no availability of cars and trains for a long time. This time, they do not want to take the chances and have started going back to their native places.

India registered 2,59,170 new COVID-19 cases and 1,761 deaths in the last 24 hours, the data by the Union Health Ministry showed on Tuesday (April 20, 2021) morning. As per the official figures, there were also 1,54,761 coronavirus recoveries between Monday and Tuesday morning. 

India now has a total of 1,53,21,089 COVID-19 infections, of which, 20,31,977 are active cases. The country has so far witnessed 1,80,530 coronavirus-related fatalities.

Earlier on Sunday, India had reported 2.61 lakh new cases followed by 2.73 lakh infections on Monday. India, notably, is the second-worst coronavirus-hit country in the world.