'Permit trains to carry migrant workers from Mumbai to West Bengal': Fadnavis urges Mamata

BJP leader and Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that the Railway Ministry has asked for permission for seven trains to carry migrant labourers from Mumbai to West Bengal, but, not even one permission has been granted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Taking to Twitter, Fadnavis appealed to Mamata Banerjee to give permission "asap" so that migrant workers don’t go "on foot".

Earlier, Union Home minister Amit Shah had accused the Mamata government of not allowing trains to ferry stranded migrants to their home, but the state refuted the charges, saying 6,000 migrants have already returned and 10 trains carrying more labourers will arrive soon. Meanwhile, India's Covid-19 tally crossed the 62,000-mark today as the country recorded 62,939 cases with the death toll rising to 2,109.

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Mamata Govt Refutes Railways On Clearance To Run Migrant Trains

The West Bengal government on Saturday night termed the railways' statement about receiving clearance to run migrant trains from the state in the evening "misleading and incorrect". The Mamata government said that it was given on Friday or before.

West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay tweeted, "Ministry of Railways tweet is misleading and incorrect." "All trains mentioned in their tweet were approved and communicated to the states concerned on May 8 or before, no new decision in this regard has been taken today. Further decisions to follow in due course," he said.

After day-long war of words between the state and the Centre over the matter, the railways said in the night they had received "clearance" from West Bengal for running eight special trains to the state to ferry people stranded outside due to the lockdown. A senior railway official said three trains from Karnataka, two each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu, and one from Telangana will take stranded people to West Bengal over the next few days.

READ: Mamata govt refutes Railways on clearance to run migrant trains, calls it 'misleading'

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