As Aaditya blames Centre for Bandra incident, Sena praises PM Modi's COVID lockdown speech

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the speech he delivered on Tuesday while extending the lockdown till May 3. The party in its mouthpiece Saamana stated that CM Uddhav Thackeray has been saying that the war against Coronavirus cannot be won by making the states' weak or by reducing their powers and PM Modi echoed similar sentiments in his speech as well.

'No need to make baseless comments'

The editorial said that the Prime Minister looked a bit worried but he instilled confidence among the countrymen. It added that the country which has stood up after the battles of 'Mahabharata' and 'Panipat' is fighting the war against this virus with all its strength. "The opposition need not make baseless comments on Prime Minister's Modi speech," the party said. 

This comes after Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday blamed the Centre for the protest by hundreds of migrant workers near Bandra railway station and sought a road map to facilitate their journey back to their native places. In a series of tweets, Thackeray said, "The current situation in Bandra, now dispersed or even the rioting in Surat is a result of the Union Government not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home migrant labour."

Later on Tuesday, Aaditya Thackrey said the Centre has taken immediate cognisance of the incident where a large group of migrant workers gathered at Bandra railway station. "The Centre has taken immediate cognisance of the issue and is assisting the State actively. Thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for understanding the situation," said Thackrey.

Home Minister Amit Shah had called up Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and expressed concern over the gathering of migrant workers. He also offered his full support to the Maharashtra government.

Uddhav assures migrant workers

Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday tried to reassure migrant workers who are stranded in the state that a lockdown is not a "lock-up" and appealed to them to face the "challenge" of the coronavirus pandemic by staying back.

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Thackeray was speaking during a live webcast after hundreds of migrant workers gathered near the Bandra railway station in Mumbai, seeking to head back home even as the country-wide lockdown was extended till May 3. He spoke briefly in Hindi as he made a direct appeal to the migrants.

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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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(With agency inputs)