Kejriwal’s AAP playing politics on migrants’ rail fare: Bihar minister Sanjay Jha

In an interview to ThePrint, JDU leader & Bihar Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha said CM Nitish Kumar’s stand of not allowing migrants to come back earlier being appreciated now.

JDU leader & Bihar Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha | Photo by Suraj Singh Bisht

Patna: They played a significant role in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) coming to power in Delhi, but when it came to taking care of them during a crisis, the migrant labourers have been abandoned by the Arvind Kejriwal government, Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said.

Talking to ThePrint on the controversy over payment of railway tickets, Jha, a senior JDU leader and the state’s water resources minister, said the AAP is playing politics over the issue of train ticket fare for migrants.

“Our migrant labourers are coming from several states but we didn’t face any controversy so far. This controversy only started when AAP minister Gopal Rai tweeted that we are sending the migrant labourers to Bihar and we have paid for the ticket. He shouldn’t have written that as it’s incorrect,” he said.

Pointing out that migrants and labourers from Bihar have played a major role in developing Delhi, Jha said: “Their contribution in developing Delhi is huge and even in their government formation they have played a big role. On one hand, he writes a letter to us not to pay the migrant labourers but to pay the Delhi government, and then accuses us of not paying.”

He added, “We have maintained that the Bihar government has a policy in place and CM Nitish Kumar has already announced that we will pay for the railway tickets apart from providing Rs 500 after quarantining them.”

Jha said AAP should not have “indulged in politics” during such testing times when the country is tackling Covid-19. “If you paid the railway ticket then you shouldn’t have written a letter to us for reimbursing it. And if you wanted us to reimburse that, you shouldn’t have tweeted it,” he said.

“It is quite clear that due to Covid-19 sale of tickets is not happening, and tickets are taken in bulk by states. Trains have been coming from Haryana, Telangana etc but no such allegations were made. The entire controversy started with them (AAP) as they initially publicised and gathered people and then threw them out of Delhi. All those worked for years and made Delhi what Delhi is today, but they (AAP) didn’t even take 24 hours to throw them out.”

‘Criticised earlier, Nitish Kumar’s stand is being appreciated now’

Nitish Kumar was until late last month against bringing back those stranded in other states, calling it “an injustice to the principle of (the) lockdown”.

BJP leaders in Bihar had openly disagreed with him on his stand.

Asked if the state could have handled the migrant situation in a better manner by allowing the labourers to travel earlier, Jha said the Narendra Modi government took a decision on lockdown based on the circumstances then and all states followed it. “Our government decided to transfer Rs 1,000 in the account of the migrant workers immediately but the magnitude is so big it is but natural that it did cause inconvenience to the people,” he said.

He said CM Nitish Kumar’s stand was criticised initially by many but the same people are now appreciating it.

“Initially people had criticised him and used to say all kinds of things but now they are saying his stand was correct. All he said was that if there is a lockdown and intra- and inter-state movement is not allowed, only then the Centre can change that. At the same time, if so many people would have come to Bihar at that time it would have led to a number of cases too. So even people in Bihar are appreciating it.”

Asked about the instances of people still cycling and walking from various parts of the country to Bihar, the minister acknowledged the problem, but said the government is appealing to them to have patience and wait for the state to make arrangements.

‘Covid has made people realise importance of Bihari workforce’

Jha admitted that if the 27 lakh people who have registered come back to the state, it will become a major challenge for them.

“I don’t know if 27 lakh will come as many are deciding to stay back as the industry has started operating. We are also trying to ensure that under MNREGA and flood irrigation we provide them jobs. But it is indeed a major challenge for the state to create jobs for all of them,” the JDU leader told ThePrint.

On the instances of migrant workers finding it hard to pay for their rail tickets, Jha said they decided to reimburse the railway ticket and offer an additional Rs 500 after the quarantine period is over as an incentive for the migrant workers.

“The purpose is that they remain quarantined and so this money also acts as an incentive. Imagine if they all end up going home, it will create major trouble for the state. And to break the chain, we have to keep them at the quarantine centres,” he said, adding that the originating state also has some responsibility.

“The originating state has no responsibility towards these people who have made their buildings, their metros?”

Jha said Covid-19 has also made people realise the importance of the Bihari workforce.

“Punjab CM asked Nitish ji to appeal and ask the migrant voters not to leave the state. It happened in Telangana too. So far, their role was not in the focus despite contributing massively to wealth creation of a state. Now in this crisis, if they (the states) are choosing to not help then these migrant workers are also watching this,” he said.

Jha, who is the state’s water resources minister, meanwhile, agreed that the Bihar government’s flood preparations have been impacted due to Covid-19 because while there was a shortage of labour initially, construction was not allowed later on. He, however, said the government has reviewed it and work is now being carried out in shifts to meet the target.

JDU and BJP ‘understand each other’ 

Rubbishing all rumours of a rift between the JDU and its ally BJP, Jha said they have been in an alliance for years and both the parties “understand each other”.

On the October elections in Bihar, Jha said it is for the Election Commission to comment but the party is fully geared up for it. “We are completely ready and will showcase the NDA achievement of five years. Largely, if a survey is conducted today, satisfaction level will be huge for Nitish Kumar government,” he said, adding seat-sharing would be an issue.

Criticising RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jha said he considers Congress as the opposition.

“RJD is a family party and a non-serious one. In today’s time when such a major pandemic has happened the leader of opposition is nowhere to be seen and is in Delhi and is carrying out politics on tTwitter.”

Jha also said the huge number of migrant labourers returning to the state might usher in a new era for Bihar. “With changing geo-politics due to Covid-19, Bihar can become a big platform for industry and manufacturing companies by providing skilled and cheap labour,” he said.