WARRING’S CLAIM ON MIGRANTS’ TRAVEL HOME KICKS UP ROW

BATHINDA: The local Congress leadership is facing social media flak and opposition disapproval for trying to draw political mileage out of migrant labourers’ crisis, after its Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Waring and other party workers distributed pamphlets among them, crediting the party with paying for their travel.

The first such train from Bathinda, the Shramik Express, carrying 1,388 passengers had left for Muzaffarpur in Bihar on Sunday morning in which pamphlets were distributed. The pamphlets were distributed from the platform, with a video of the incident going viral on social media on Monday. Another train for Daltonganj in Jharkhand left Bathinda Sunday evening.

Former Bathinda (urban) MLA and SAD leader Sarup Singla said, “It is unfortunate that Congress leaders are trying to draw political mileage out of the condition of migrant labourers. The Congress has failed to provide help to the needy during the lockdown.”

Bathinda deputy commissioner B Srinivasan said the administration had paid for travel expenses of migrant labourers from the State Disaster Relief Fund. NGOs helped with making arrangement for food, he added. Warring couldn’t be contacted despite repeated calls. HTC