'Pathetic' that migrants offered 5 kg grains, 1 kg gram: Congress

The government has announced migrants who neither come under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) nor are state card beneficiaries in states will be benefited.

Congress spokesperson and former Union minister Manish Tewari on Thursday said while addressing a press conference that "the migrants who are walking towards their homes are left to the mercy of God and if they reach home the government is offering 5 kg rice or wheat and 1 kg of gram, its pathetic."

The Congress alleged that the government is giving wrong figures on migrants as the government said there are 8 crore migrants but the reality is that 11 crore migrants are in the country as per 2011 census and which has increased in these years.

Party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate added that "government should give direct cash transfer to the pockets to enhance the demand and this is not more than Rs 65,000 crore while the so called stimulus package is only ‘loan Mela'."

The Congress lashed out at the Finance Minister on her statement that states should take care of the migrants as "why should the states be responsible when lockdown was announced by Prime Minister on a 4-hour notice" said Tewari.

The Congress questioned that of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus only Rs 3,500 crore is given to the people who are worst hit due to lockdown."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, unveiling the second tranche of measures of the government's self-reliance campaign, said migrants in various states require foodgrain assistance.

"Migrants who neither come under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) nor are state card beneficiaries in states where they are stationed will be provided 5 kg of grains per person and 1 kg of gram 'chana' per family for two months", said Sitharaman.

Emphasising the government's commitment to support migrant workers in the tough times during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Sitharaman said: "About 8 crore migrants are expected to benefit and Rs 3,500 crore will be spent on this intervention for 2 months."

The Finance Minister also announced ‘one nation one ration' in which "as many as 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 per cent of the PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020. 100 per cent national portability will be achieved by March 2021. All states and UTs will complete full FPS automation by March 2021," she added.