Coronavirus lockdown | Congress to convene opposition meet on May 22 to discuss migrant issue

All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Sonia Gandhi is set to chair a meeting of all opposition parties on May 22 to discuss the plight of stranded migrants and temporary suspension of labour laws in several states.

Fifteen opposition parties have agreed to participate in the video conference meeting so far, reported the Hindustan Times.

There have been reports of migrant workers walking back to their natives or hitchhiking their way back home in the thousands. Though the Centre has arranged for Shramik Special trains to ferry stranded migrant labourers back home, the wait is long and several have preferred to set out on the long march home.

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Many labourers have died in road mishaps since and the Congress party has been pushing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre to step up efforts to alleviate the stress of India’s poor.

After the coronavirus-induced lockdown being extended to May 31, the Government of India decided to start maintaining the National Migrant Information System (NMIS) — an online list that would help track the movement of stranded labourers heading home.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken to the streets to interact with home-bound migrant workers. The act met with rebuke as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dubbed it as “dramebaazi (theatrics)” on national television.

She had also highlighted that the Centre has in fact joined hands with the state governments to facilitate the return of stranded labourers by running special trains. The FM had further said: “I am urging the opposition party very politely, folding my hands and requesting them here. We must all come together and help migrant labourers in this crisis.”

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