India's main opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a jibe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over a lockdown-driven exodus of internal migrant workers to their home states and suggested the government should support them financially.
"Migrants workers are fleeing to their native villages. In such a situation, it is the responsibility of the central government to deposit money in their bank accounts to help them. But will a government that blames the public for spreading corona take such a helpful step?" he tweeted in Hindi.
Gandhi’s remark comes at a time when thousands of migrant labourers in the country are flocking to railway stations and bus stops; several states have implemented a partial lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, leaving them out of work for the duration of the emergency.
Last year, millions of migrant workers within India had to face massive hardship while returning to their home villages and small towns after a national lockdown left workplaces closed in big cities.
The first national lockdown was declared to curb the spread of COVID-19 among the general public on 24 March last year.