By Navneet Mishra

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS): With thousands of migrant labourers forced to travel hundreds of kilometers on foot to their homes from states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi, the BJP is worried with the aggressive manner in which the opposition has exploited the issue and the ruling party is now trying to counter it.

The BJP's top leadership has told party workers that the way they helped crores of needy people during the lockdown, there is now is a need to help the migrant labourers in mission mode.

BJP President J.P. Nadda, through continuous video conferencing has asked BJP workers to provide shoes, slippers, lunch packets, milk to the children etc. on the roads. He has also said that the poor labourers should be persuaded to travel by rail and bus so that there is no risk to their lives due to travelling unsafely on trucks or on foot.

BJP national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal told IANS, "The issue of migrant laborers is more related to the central and state governments. But the BJP leadership has instructed the party workers for all possible help to the migrants. All the party leaders and workers have been asked to keep lunch packets in their cars at all times and to give them to nearby labourers along with footwear also while maintaining norms of the lockdown and social distancing."

The BJP spokesperson said that party workers have also been asked to find out the problems in the quarantine centres.

Agarwal denied that there was any error by the Central government in dealing with the problems of migrant labourers. He said that the Ministry of Railways wants to send migrant labourers to their states by running more and more trains. But non-BJP ruled states are not cooperating.

Agrawal, citing figures, said that on one hand the government of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh runs 600 trains requesting the Ministry of Railways, on the other hand the Mamata Banerjee government of West Bengal has approved only nine trains. Similarly, Rajasthan and Jharkhand have also been hesitant in approving trains due to which migrants from these states are not able to take advantage of rail facilities.

Party sources say that during the meeting at party chief Nadda's residence, some senior ministers and party leaders had raised the issue of migrant laborers. It was said that any laxity was on the issue could undermine relief operations being carried out on a large scale.

Therefore, just as the BJP had launched the Annapurna campaign, now there has to be a campaign to help migrant labourers. Party units in all states have been directed to better handle the issue.