After Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that her party will bear the cost of rail travel for needy migrants, the Centre clarified that Railways will be bearing 85 percent of the fare, while the remaining will be borne by the respective state governments.
In a press conference, the Centre said that it has "never talked of charging train fare from migrant workers."
Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs had allowed special trains, called 'Shramik Special' to carry stranded migrants, daily wagers, students, pilgrims and tourists to their native hometowns amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Thousands of migrants have been stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was first enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk hundreds of kilometres to reach home.
The move came after many states, including Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana, requested the Centre for special trains to ferry migrant workers back to their home states.
As the decision was rolled out by the Home Ministry, it was decided that the state governments will pay the ticket fare for the stranded.
Many Opposition leaders castigated the move, with Sonia Gandhi accusing the Centre of shirking its responsibility, saying, "If it (Centre) can bring back free of cost citizens stranded abroad by air, why can't the same responsibility be shown towards the poor migrants who are considered ambassadors of the nation's growth."
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