Cong attacks govt over migrant crisis

Total cases in

India*

Deaths due to Covid-19

Cases being reassigned to states

NEW DELHI: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said on Thursday that the entire country, barring the central government, had heard the migrants’ cries of anguish and felt their pain, as the party sharpened its criticism of the way the Centre handled the migrant crisis set off by the Covid-19 lockdown.

In a video message posted as part of an online campaign by the Congress, Gandhi also urged the Centre to unlock its coffers to help those hit by the lockdown imposed on March 25, which sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of migrant workers from the cities to their homes in rural areas of several states.

The day-long “Speak Up India” campaign was launched by the opposition party to pressure the Centre to accept its demands for immediate financial aid to migrant workers, daily wage earners, farmers and small businesses hit by the pandemic.

In the absence of mass protests during the pandemic, the Congress had decided to open online fronts against the government. The campaign included messages through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube accounts. In a letter sent to state unit chiefs, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal asked them to mobilise around 5 million participants to register their protest.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken claimed that over 5.7 million party leaders and workers posted on social media.“the campaign reached out to around 100 million people. It was a massive virtual rally. #Speakupindia was also the top Twitter trend worldwide,” he said.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied ignoring the plight of migrant workers, and hit out at Congress. “Congress can neither rule nor play the role of a constructive opposition. What they did today was drama. The least their party chief could have done was taken a leaf out of BJP president JP Nadda’s book and instructed party workers to feed hungry people and provide whatever help was needed,” BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Separately, former finance minister P Chidambaram attacked the government for discontinuing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bonds scheme, calling it another “cruel blow” to the citizens.the 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds cease for subscription with effect from the close of banking business on Thursday.

“After lowering the interest rates in PPF {Public Provident Fund} and small savings instruments, the abolition of the RBI Bond is another cruel blow. All citizens must demand that the RBI Bond must be restored immediately,” Chidambaram tweeted.