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The Congress party has reacted strongly to the comments made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who termed former president Rahul Gandhi ‘ meeting with migrant workers on their way home as dramebaz.
The country will not spare Sitharaman for this insult of lakhs of migrant labourers and workers, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
“Do the woes and helplessness of migrants walking down to their homes thirsty and hungry look like ‘dramebaazi’ to the government… Please do not insult the lakhs of workers and the country will not spare you for doing so. This insensitive and ‘sahukaar’ government and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should apologise to the workers of the country,” he said in a video message.
मोदीजी-निर्मलाजी,
राहत के मलहम की बजाय घाव पर नमक छिड़कना बंद करें। ये मज़दूर है,मजबूर नही।
मज़दूर की बेबसी आपको ड्रामेबाज़ी लगती है?
नंगे पाँव में पड़े सैंकड़ों छाले ड्रामेबाज़ी दिखते हैं?
भूखे प्यासे चलते जाने की व्यथा ड्रामेबाज़ी है?सवेंदनहीन सरकार मज़दूरों से माफ़ी माँगे। pic.twitter.com/WyEJ7T5WRf
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 17, 2020
Surjewala said Rahul Gandhi met the migrants to share their pain in this hour of crisis. “If sharing pain is a crime, then the Congress will repeat this crime again. If hearing out the woes of labourers about this insensitive government is a crime, then Rahul Gandhi will commit this crime again,” he said.
Another party leader, Anand Sharma said one expects certain degree of seriousness and gravitas when a finance minister is addressing an official press conference.
“She should answer questions; she should not ask questions. Congress President Sonia Gandhi does not have to learn from Nirmala Sitharaman about how to conduct, answer and what genuine compassion the Congress Party have about the suffering migrant labourers and our solidarity to them.” he said at a press conference.
“We don’t intend to play politics, but, the fact is, it is almost two months they are suffering, because, it was without any planning, without any preparedness, without any coordination with the states the lockdown was imposed in 4 hours and tens of millions were left stranded,” Sharma said.
He said the government has to answer and apologise to these poor citizens of India who have been left abandoned and their fundamental and legal rights snatched.
Sitharaman had said Gandhi is doing drama and asked political parties to refrain from politicising the plight of migrant workers and behave responsibly on the issue.
After announcing the Rs 20-lakh crore economic package, she said the government would seek cooperation from all parties including the Congress to resolve the issue.
Referring to Gandhi’s interaction with a group of migrant workers returning their home on Saturday, Sitharaman said, “They are adding to misery of migrant labourers, who are walking on their foot to their home, by stopping them and talking. It would be much better, if they could walk along with with them and also carry their yoke or their children”.
“They are calling us dramabaaz. What happened yesterday by stopping migrants and interacting with them on the road and wasting their time? Aren’t they dramabaaz?”
