Hooda, Surjewala flay use of force and fogging on labourers in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Former chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AICC communication head Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday flayed the Manohar Lal Khattar- Dushyant Chautala led BJP-JJP government over the issue of maltreatment meted out to migrants moving out of Haryana.
A number of migrant labourers were hurt in the alleged use of force by police to disperse the agitating crowd in Yamunanagar. Similarly, in a bid to sanitize the migrants ahead of boarding of buses and trains, Panipat administration used the fogging machine, which is generally used to check the issues of mosquito breeding.
Referring to use of force by policemen in Yamunanagar, Hooda said that it is inhuman to beat up poor labourers who are victims of circumstances and the government should treat the labourers with empathy in this difficult period.
The former chief minister advised the government to ensure that the workers don’t flee from the state and arrangements should be made for their stay and food and that they should be provided with immediate monetary relief or alternate employment. If the government is not able to do this or poor labourers want to go home, then proper arrangements should be made for migrants so that they can return home safe.
“The government does not even seem able to to provide any relief and workers have to travel hundreds of kilometers on foot. Instead of running buses or trains for them, the government is using sticks on them. This is unfortunate. The poorest have been the worst victims of the pandemic. The government should fulfill both its administrative and humanitarian responsibilities towards them,” Hooda said.
Similarly, Surjewala gave the strong reaction on the issue of fogging on migrant labourers in Panipat as a process adopted by local administration to sanitize them before making them board the buses. "Will this government ever wake up to these kind of issues," said Surjewala.