On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy slammed the Modi government for charging migrant workers for railway tickets and said that the funds could have come from PM CARES.
Taking to Twitter, Subramanian Swamy wrote: "How moronic of the Government of India to charge steep rail fares from the half-starved migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad were brought back free by Air India. If Railways refuse to budge then why not make PM CARES pay instead?"
His remarks came amid the reports that the migrants were being charged for their travel by trains to their respective states. The railways has earlier said that it was charging the state governments for the Shramik special train tickets.
The railways also clarified that the Shramik Special trains are meant for "nominated people" identified and registered by state governments and the railways will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any groups.
The railways has started to run the Shramik Special trains for transporting the labourers from May 1, almost 40 days after the passenger, mail and Express trains services were suspended. Till now the national transporter has run over a dozen of Shramik Special trains on the request of the state governments to ferry the migrant labourers.
