Raj Thackeray Rebuts Yogi For Mandating State Nod For Migrant Workers

Stranded migrant workers and their families queue as they wait for a medical screening before going to a railway station and board on a special train to Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh state after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, at the Guru Nanak Auditorium, in Amritsar on May 18, 2020. (Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP) — LUCKNOW: In a two-pronged strategy to secure migrant workers, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up a Migration Commission for the employment of labourers in the state.

According to him, any state that wants to hire migrant workers from UP has to seek prior permission. He further directed the officials to give the migrant workers an insurance so that their life is secured. He has also suggested to come up with a scheme in order to ensure their job security.
The Migration Commission has also been proposed to look into various factors associated with migrant workers’ rights and to prevent exploitation while providing an official framework to ensure socio-economic-legal support for them.
He did not elaborate on how UP planned to ensure that permission was taken or how it would monitor the movement of lakhs of migrant workers once the lockdown is lifted and economic activity restarts.
He, however, said his government would form a migrants’ commission to help workers get employment within the state.
“I have instructed my officers that there should be a commission made to get them employment within Uttar Pradesh itself,” Yogi Adityanath said during an online interaction with the media.

Yogi Adityanath said the Commission that will come up will provide migrant workers with all kinds of facilities. “We will stand with migrant workers wherever they go,” he added. Since the slow easing of the lockdown started, states like Karnataka have been trying to retain the migrant labourers, saying they would be needed once construction work and industrial activities start.
There have been reports that Tamil Nadu has also been trying to stop the exodus of migrant workers by keeping them comfortable, even though many industries have not been able to pay their salaries.
So far, 23 lakh migrant workers have returned to UP from states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and so on. As per UP’s estimate, more than 1.5 lakh migrants are coming back every day due to the lockdown. To deal with this influx, the CM has also directed to increase COVID testing of migrants to 10,000 per day from the current 7,000.
Meanwhile,MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Monday slammed UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the decision of requiring prior permission from the state government to employ migrant workers. Taking to Twitter, Thackeray posted a note urging the UP CM to take cognizance that if this is the case then any migrant entering Maharashtra will also need to take prior permissions from the state government.
Raj Thackeray further urged the Maharashtra government to look into the matter seriously. According to him, any migrants entering the state in the future will need to be registered along with their personal details and identification proof.
(With Agency Inputs From Agency)