Thiruvananthapuram: Minister Kadakampally Surendran dismissed the claims of BJP leaders that the central government is bearing 85 percent of the travel charges of migrant workers. Minister said that the central government has not done anything other than allotting trains for them to go back to their respective states.
BJP national spokespersons had claimed the other day that 85 percent of the ticket charges of the migrant workers are taken care of by the central government and the remaining 15 percent by the respective state governments.
This argument was taken up by some of the BJP leaders in the state as well. BJP leadership made this argument soon after Sonia Gandhi asked Congress leadership in different states to cover the travelling expense of migrant workers.
Kadakampally Surendran said that the migrant workers themselves took care of the ticket charges to return to their homes. He joked that the BJP leaders could be talking about manufacturing cost of the train.
The minister also made it clear that the state government will not bear the ticket cost of the workers either as they have enough money with them.
He urged the central government to exert pressure on states like West Bengal and Assam to accept the migrant workers who are returning home.