In his address to the debate in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Monday, 7 February, honoured singer Lata Mangeshkar, before unleashing an attack on the Opposition parties, alleging that they instigated migrant workers to breach lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19.
His remarks, however, did not bode well with the Opposition parties.
While Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal accused the PM of playing politics on the "sufferings of the people," Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi said, in reference to his 'migrant workers' barb, that they will "make this mistake 100 times over... for humanity."
Pointing out that “the opposition has raised the issue of inflation here,” Modi said: “It would've been better if they had raised that matter while their government was in power.”
Modi Blames Congress & AAP for Spread of COVID-19
Further, he alleged that even as coronavirus is a global pandemic, "some even misused that for political gains."
Thereby, Modi went on to say:
“During the first wave of COVID-19, you (Congress) gave free train tickets to migrant workers to leave Mumbai. At the same time, the Delhi government told migrant workers to leave the city and provided them buses. As a result, COVID spread rapidly in Punjab, UP, and Uttarakhand.”
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment had in September 2020 told Parliament that it had no data available on the number of migrant workers who had lost their lives during the nationwide lockdown that year.
This had come months after the internet was flooded with visuals of migrant workers struggling to get to their homes, after having been rendered unemployed and left wanting for food, safety, and shelter due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Many were said to have perished along the way.
Subsequently, the PM accused the Congress party of practising divisive politics, and said: "Congress has become the leader of tukde-tukde gang."
'Politics on the Sufferings of the People': Arvind Kejriwal
Dubbing Modi's statement as "completely false," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said:
"It does not suit the Prime Minister to do politics on the sufferings of the people."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Revenue Minister and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that the PM's remarks don't befit his post.
"We are very proud of the support given by the MVA govt and Congress party to the distressed North Indian workers who were left to fend for themselves by the Centre during the pandemic," he added.
'Have Some Sensitivity, Some Humility': Priyanka Chaturvedi
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, on her part, observed that if the PM had watched the situation closely, “he would have seen how these migrant labourers on reaching their homes were first sprayed with sanitisers in abject humiliation.”
“Was raising voice against the sufferings a mistake? If yes will commit such mistakes 100 times over,” she added.
“When the trains requested by the states was not given to them but rather politicised by the then Rail Minister in sheer arrogance of control, should the citizens of this nation been left alone? Have some sensitivity, some humility to sufferings faced before making these comments.”
"I had said a few years ago that the real 'tukde-tukde' gang is BJP that has divided Hindus-Muslims on the basis of religion, separated people on language lines, divided North-South India... BJP is doing these divisions," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was quoted as saying by ANI in response to PM Modi's comments on Monday.
"His entire speech was an attack on the Congress party. It was a very political speech with large portion devoted to attacking Congress... I suppose we ought to be flattered that he sees us this way," Tharoor further said.
A number of other political leaders also retaliated.
"People whom he had deserted, who had no way of returning to their homes, who were coming back on foot - did he want that nobody should help them? What did Modi ji want? What does he want? What about the big rallies he did?," Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was quoted as saying by ANI.
'Listen Yogi, Listen Kejriwal': War of Words Between UP & Delhi CMs
Soon after PM Modi's speech, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched an attack on Delhi CM Kejriwal on Twitter, saying:
"Listen Kejriwal, You forced the workers of UP to leave Delhi when the entire humanity was groaning due to the pain of coronavirus. Your government did an undemocratic and inhuman act like leaving even small children and women helpless on the UP border in the middle of the night. Call you a traitor or..."
"Listen Yogi, you just let it be. The way the dead bodies of the people of UP were flowing in the river and you were giving advertisements of your false applause in Times magazine by spending crores of rupees. I have never seen such a merciless and cruel ruler like you," Kejriwal said in response.
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