CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday hit out at the government over allowing migrant labourers to return to their homes only after subjecting them to hardships and for passing on the responsibility of their transport to the states.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued guidelines permitting migrant labourers to return by road and asked state governments to implement it while keeping in mind social distancing norms.
"Finally, the Centre has condescended to permit migrant labour to go home, after subjecting them to untold hardships, misery, hunger and exposure to Covid. But how? It's now the responsibility of the concerned States to organise busses, fund the costs and take all health precautions!
"Centre will not spend a paisa, or give them their dues, while Modi writes off loans of thousands of crores looted by cronies like Mehul bhai'. Rs 68,000 crore of loans taken by cronies have been written off by this govt but no money to pay States?," he said in a tweet.
Migrant workers, tourists, students and other people, who are stranded in different parts of the country, were on Wednesday allowed to move to their respective homes amid the nationwide lockdown with certain conditions.
In an order, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said buses shall be used for transport of such groups of stranded people and these vehicles will be sanitised and will have to follow safe social distancing norms in seating.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,007 and the number of cases climbed to 31,332 in the country on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 9,318, followed by Gujarat at 3,744, Delhi 3,314, Madhya Pradesh 2,387, Rajasthan 2,364, Tamil Nadu 2,058 and Uttar Pradesh 2,053. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,259 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,004 in Telangana.
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