'Own Up': BJP's Somaiya won't accept Maha Home Min Deshmukh's Bandra incident explanation

Reacting on the Bandra gathering incident on Tuesday, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that the gathering was "sponsored" by Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state and said that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh must "own" the failure of his ministry and the police. 

Taking to Twitter, he asked the "Thackeray Sarkar" to explain how more than a thousand people gathered at Bandra (West) near Station? The vice president of the BJP's  Maharashtra unit questioned the law and order in the state and asked how did the people gather there in spite of  Section 144 being in force in the state.

Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday said the gathering of migrant labourers at Bandra railway station is the result of the manner in which the lockdown has been extended. "It is the result of the manner in which the lockdown has been extended. People who were stuck in Mumbai were expecting that lockdown will end and they will be allowed to go home but they were disappointed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address today. Their anger burst out on streets of Bandra," said Deshmukh.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and expressed concern over the gathering of migrant workers in Bandra. The Union Home Minister stressed that such gatherings weaken India's fight against the coronavirus and the administration needs to stay vigilant to avoid such incidents. He also offered his full support to the Maharashtra government.

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Bandra gathering incident 

Around 1,500 people, mostly migrant workers, gathered at Bandra railway station premises on Tuesday and wanted to go to their native places but were later dispersed, said the Mumbai Police. According to Republic TV sources, the local administration had arranged ration for the 'migrant workers' but people crowded the spot because the distribution of food was poorly organised.  A few minutes later, the police personnel were seen dispersing the crowd.

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