Delhi, Maharashtra call PM Mod's claim on exodus during pandemic a lie

New Delhi: A new confrontation between the Centre and states has resulted from Narendra Modi's comments in the Lok Sabha about Covid management, in which he accused the Opposition of encouraging migrants to leave and escalating the spread of infection.

Kejriwal called Modi's statement "an outright lie"; at the same, at least three other Maharashtra officials said the Prime Minister was distorting reality "as he eyes elections in five states".

Modi said the Congress had crossed all limits during the times of Covid-19 during his Lok Sabha speech, referring to the initial days of the pandemic.

"During the first wave, when the country was following lockdowns, when WHO was advising people across the world, all the health experts were suggesting that people should stay where they are…because if a person infected with coronavirus travels, he would carry the infection with him. At that time, Congress leaders stood at stations in Mumbai and distributed free train tickets and encouraged migrants to leave Mumbai so that the burden on Maharashtra can be reduced. You are from UP, you are from Bihar, go and spread corona there. You committed this big sin…You pushed our labourer brothers and sisters into great difficulties," he added

Modi then turned his attention to Delhi, saying: "At the time, there was a government in Delhi, the same government that exists today.Providing them with buses to leave Delhi and leaving them midway caused several problems. They sent jeeps with loudspeakers into the Jhuggi-jhopri (slum) colonies and told them there was a significant problem. It told them that they should go back home and return to their villages. Because of this sin, corona spread at a faster pace than before in UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab, and attacked people."

In response to Modi's allegation, Kejriwal tweeted: "The Prime Minister's statement is an outright lie. The country hopes that the Prime Minister will be empathetic towards those who faced hardship because of Covid and those who lost loved ones. It doesn't suit the Prime Minister to politicise the pain of people."

Balasaheb Thorat, leader of the Maharashtra Congress and the state's Revenue Minister, said the Centre shied away from its responsibilities and abandoned workers to die.

Thorat said that after that, the migrant workers from UP and Bihar in Mumbai and Maharashtra were in dire straits as they starved. "The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government and the Congress provided a great deal of support to the migrant workers during the Corona period," .