“The Indian Railways’ data reveals that 1,033 trains for migrant workers were run from Gujarat, while 817 Shramik trains were operated from Maharashtra,” NCP MP Supriya Sule claimed
Supriya Sule, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), chastised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8 for accusing the Opposition of inciting migrants to flee Mumbai during the COVID-19 lockdown, claiming that more trains for migrant workers were operated from Gujarat than Maharashtra during the pandemic-related restrictions.
Mr. Modi claimed in the Lok Sabha on February 7 that the Congress "exceeded all bounds" during the COVID-19 outbreak, accusing the party of inciting and intimidating innocent workers to abandon Mumbai for their home states.
He was speaking in response to a motion of thanks for President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint session of Parliament.
In Maharashtra, the Congress presently shares power with the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
Ms. Sule told reporters on February 8 in New Delhi that it is unpleasant to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi focusing on Maharashtra, which helped his party gain 18 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.
"According to Indian Railways data, 1,033 migrant worker trains were operated from Gujarat, whereas 817 Shramik trains were operated from Maharashtra," she stated.
Ms. Sule also mentioned a 2020 social media post by then-railways minister Piyush Goyal, in which he criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over migrant worker trains.
“Goyal in his Twitter post on May 24, 2020 said that 125 Shramik Special trains were ready to be allotted to Maharashtra for the migrant workers to return home. He had asked the State to give a detailed list of migrant workers within an hour to the Railways,” the Lok Sabha member pointed out.
Ms. Sule went on to say that BJP MP Harish Dwivedi proudly announced in his Lok Sabha statement last week that the Union Government had run trains for migrant workers to safely visit their homes.
“Then why PM Modi is selectively talking about Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in his speech?” she asked.
“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 not of a party,” she said.
Mr. Goyal's decision to arrange some trains for migrant workers from Maharashtra was also praised by senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, according to the NCP representative.