Free travel by Shramik Special Trains: Centre to pay 85% fare and rest 15% by states

May 04: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that Indian Railways will pay 85 per cent train fares of migrant workers and the remaining 15 per cent will be paid by the state government. The move has come after the centre faced a backlash from Congress party, and other opposition leaders for charging migrant labourers during the lockdown.

BJP leader Sambit Patra stated that that for each ‘Shramik Express’ (special trains being run for migrants) about 1,200 tickets to the destination were handed by the railways to the state government concerned. State governments are supposed to clear the ticket price and hand over the tickets to workers, he said. He was responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the railways for charging poor migrant labourers ticket fare, even as it donated over ₹151 crore to the PM-CARES Fund.

Rahul Gandhi ji,
I have attached guidelines of MHA which clearly states that “No tickets to be sold at any station”
Railways has subsidised 85% & State govt to pay 15%
The State govt can pay for the tickets(Madhya Pradesh’s BJP govt is paying)
Ask Cong state govts to follow suit https://t.co/Hc9pQzy8kQ pic.twitter.com/2RIAMyQyjs

— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 4, 2020

Earlier BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy also condemned the government’s move of not subsidising train fares of migrant workers. He 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?” He later confirmed that migrant workers returning home will not have to pay any money from now onwards after he had a conversation with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal.

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?

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 4, 2020

Seeking to corner the central government, the Congress on Monday said its state units will bear the cost of rail travel of needy migrant workers and labourers stranded at their workplaces due to the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.