Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday hit out at the Centre asking that if the government can bring back Indians stranded overseas through air, free of cost, then why cannot it give free rail travel facility to labourers amid lockdown.
"The workers are nation builders. But today they are stumbled. This is the cause of self-agony for the whole country. When we can bring back stranded Indians free of cost by airplane, when we can spend Rs 100 crore on Namaste Trump event from the government treasury, when the Railway Minister can give Rs 151 crore in PM's Care Fund, then why cannot the workers get the facility of free rail travel during this epidemic?" she said on Twitter.
"The Indian National Congress has decided that it will bear the full expenses of the rail journey of the workers returning home," she added.
Earlier in the day, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi had issued a statement stating that her party will bear the cost for rail travel of every needy migrant worker and labourer to their respective home towns during the lockdown.
She said that Congress had taken the decision as the Centre and Rail Ministry had completely ignored party's repeated requests to ensure provisions of "safe and free rail travel of migrant workers and labourers to their home-towns."In an order issued on May 1, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowed the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places through special trains.
( With inputs from ANI )