COVID-19: Bihar Oppn Criticises Nitish Kumar’s Failure to Bring Back Migrant Workers Amid Lockdown

Patna: The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar has launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his failure to bring back thousands of migrant workers who are stranded outside the state. He has also failed to evacuate hundreds of students from the state stuck in Kota, Rajasthan, owing to the nationwide lockdown, which has now been extended to May 3.

With the Bihar Assembly polls hardly five to six months away, Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday, April 18, raised questions on Nitish Kumar’s failure to take a decision to bring them back without delay. In an open letter to Nitish Kumar, he also blamed the CM for the growing restlessness and worry among thousands of families of migrant workers, who are struggling for survival outside state during lockdown and the parents of hundreds of students from the state stuck in Kota.

More than 10,000 students from Bihar are reportedly studying in different coaching institutes that help them prepare for competitive entrance test for engineering and medical.

He also highlighted that the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have shown concern for their people who are stranded outside the state and they have arranged transportation to bring back them home. “If Gujarat government can manage 28 luxury buses to bring back 1,800 people stranded in Haridwar and Uttar Pradesh can send 200 buses to Delhi NCR to bring back people to their home and also sent 250 buses to Kota to bring back 7,500 students stuck there, why Bihar is not doing anything to bring back own migrant workers and students?,” he questioned.

In the open letter which was published on Facebook, Tejashwi Yadav also taunted Nitish Kumar for being helpless, while other states which were ruled by BJP, were doing everything to protect their people. He added that some migrant workers have reportedly died due to hunger outside the state in last three days.

The former deputy chief minister further wrote, “Our migrant workers are human resources, who earned doing hard work and sent back their earnings to Bihar that mainly helped to run the rural economy but the way government has been treating them was totally unexpected. Nitish Kumar should follow his Raj-Dharam (duty) towards them.”

Earlier this week, refuting the fears that migrant workers will not spread this disease, he had said, “The Bihar government should talk to the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab and chalk out plans to bring back Bihari migrant workers. We cannot leave them in this difficult situation.”

Since the last month Tejashwi repeatedly targeted Nitish Kumar for his failure to help migrant workers who are struggling to reach their villages following the lockdown. According to government data, more than 1.8 lakh migrant workers returned to Bihar after the lockdown began. Unofficial figures doing the rounds say more than 3 lakh migrant workers returned to Bihar after March 22.

Most of the migrant workers stranded outside state belong to marginalised communities including dalits, OBCs and EBCs, considered the social support base of both RJD and JD-U of Nitish Kumar.

Following the lockdown, thousands of migrant workers reached Bihar, many walking between 200 kms and 500 kms, others cycling, some on motorcycles and rickshaws, and a lot of them without food and water.

After thousands of migrant workers arrived in the state, the state government issued an instruction that all non-resident Biharis, including migrant workers and those visiting from foreign countries, have to stay in government school buildings and any other government building in the village in isolation for a few days.

Even though the state government has no official records, various estimates suggest that over one crore migrants from Bihar permanently work outside. Besides them, there are thousands who work as seasonal migrants. While the majority of the migrants from Bihar work in farms, factories, construction and infrastructure sites and do other such unskilled work, many are also skilled professionals.