NCP MP Supriya Sule claimed, “Indian Railways data shows that 1,033 trains for migrant workers were operated from Gujarat, while 817 Shramik trains were operated from Maharashtra.”
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 February Accusing the opposition of instigating migrants to flee Mumbai during the COVID-19 lockdownand claimed that more trains were operated from Gujarat than Maharashtra for migrant workers during the pandemic-related restrictions.
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Shri Modi said in Lok Sabha on 7th February That the Congress “crossed all limits” during the COVID-19 pandemic, and accused the party of instigating and intimidating innocent laborers to flee Mumbai to their native states.
He was replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind’s address at a joint sitting of Parliament.
The Congress currently shares power with the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on February 8, Sule said it was painful to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeting Maharashtra, which contributed significantly to her party winning 18 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.
“Indian Railways data shows that 1,033 trains for migrant workers were operated from Gujarat, while 817 Shramik trains were operated from Maharashtra,” she claimed.
Ms Sule also referred to a 2020 social media post by then Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who had targeted Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the issue of trains for migrant workers.
“Goel, in his Twitter post on May 24, 2020, said that 125 Shramik Special trains were ready to be allotted to Maharashtra for the return of migrant workers home. He had asked the state to give a detailed list of migrant workers to the Railways within an hour,” said the Lok Sabha member.
Ms Sule further said that BJP MP Harish Dwivedi, in his speech in the Lok Sabha last week, had proudly said that the central government had operated trains to take migrant workers safely to their homes.
“Then why is PM Modi selectively talking about Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in his speech?” He asked.
He said, ‘It was painful for me to see PM Modi insulting Maharashtra when we were expecting him to speak on issues like China, unemployment. He is the Prime Minister of India and does not belong to any party,” she said.
The NCP leader also referred to a tweet by senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in which he had welcomed Mr Goyal’s move to plan some trains for migrant workers from Maharashtra.
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