CM Baghel, Railway Minister lock horn over Shramik trains

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal were locked in a row on Friday over stranded workers, with the Chhattisgarh leader demanding 30 trains to bring them home and the Union Minister accusing the state government of not doing enough.

Goyal, who is from the BJP, the main opposition in the state, rapped the state for not doing enough for the labourers. The Congress Chief Minister denied the charge.

“Chhattisgarh had demanded 30 Shramik Special trains and against it only 14 were approved,” Baghel said. He added that Rs 1.17 crore has been paid to the railways.

“The charges of the Union Minister are thus not to the point and baseless,” Baghel tweeted.

In the morning, Goyal accused the Chhattisgarh government of not providing facilities to the migrants to return home and allowing only seven ‘Shramik Special’ trains.

He added that there has been no response despite his appeal to the state government to allow more ‘Shramik Special’ trains to Chhattisgarh.