NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday lashed out at the Congress and said its leader Rahul Gandhi is doing drama and asked the political parties to refrain from politicising the plight of migrant workers and behave responsibly on the issue.

Sitharaman who announcing the Rs 20-lakh crore economic package said the government would seek cooperation from all parties including the Congress to resolve the issue.

"Rather they are adding to misery of migrant labours, who is walking on their foot to their home, by stopping them and talking. It would be much better, if they could walk along with with them and also carry their yoke or their children," she said. The minister was referring to Rahul Gandhi's interaction with a group migrant workers on Saturday.

"They are calling us dramabaaz. What happened yesterday by stopping migrants and interacting with them on the road and wasting their time? Aren't they dramabaaz?," she quipped.

She wondered as to why the Congress or their alliance-ruled states is not requesting for more trains and help their own migrant labourers reach their home.

I want to tell the Opposition party that on the issue to migrants we all must work together. We are working with all states on this issue. With folded hands, I ask Sonia Gandhi ji that we must speak & deal with our migrants more responsibly: FM Sitharaman pic.twitter.com/CHXLxWiqPO
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2020

She also dared the Congress to declare that migrants workers are in very comfortable state in states ruled by their party.

"Many states are cooperating but others claim to be cooperating with the centre on the issue of movement of migrant labours," she added.

Reacting to Congress' criticism about economic package and the handling of migrant workers, she said the Centre has already informed all states that about 1,500 trains are available to carry migrant workers to their destination based on the request from the respective states. The Congress had dubbed the 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "jumla package".

According to reports, the mass migration of people due to the COVID-19 -induced lockdown is the biggest in the Indian history since partition of 1947. Women, children, old and young are walking to their home state on foot as there has been income disruption at the place of their work.

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