Attacks to appeals: What was Aaditya Thackeray’s take on Bandra incident

india

Updated: Apr 15, 2020 12:09 IST

Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray had led the charge on Twitter after nearly 1000 migrant workers gathered in Mumbai’s Bandra, demanding trains back home after the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown was extended.

Aaditya Thackeray, son of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, continued tweeting throughout the latter half of the day and night on the Bandra incident as his posts led to a political blame game.

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the incident a failure of the state after Aaditya Thackeray’s outburst.

Then there was a phone call from Union home minister Amit Shah to his father. The Union minister said the incidents like that in Bandra could weaken India’s fight against Covid-19 and that the administration needs to stay vigilant to avoid such incidents.

He also offered his full support to the Maharashtra government and Uddhav Thackeray called for peace and assured all help to migrant workers in the state.

But before logging out for the day, the young Shiv Sena leader had a word of caution and praise.

“I appeal to all twitter armies who tweeted, and to those who responded to bandra incident in a polarised, political or communal way, let’s not do that. This is a time for focus. Join hands, we’re all in this together (sic),” he wrote.

Also read: Coronavirus cases in India climb to 11,439, death toll at 377

“While I was pointing out certain gaps in the process, I see 2 clear political divides as a response. That isn’t what I stand for. We need unity over division, faith over fear, resolve over panic and purity of intent over politics,” he said.

This stand was different from what he had to say earlier in the day.

Aaditya Thackeray had taken to Twitter soon after the police were able to disperse the crowds from the Bandra railway station.

Also read: What happened in Mumbai’s Bandra

The Shiv Sena leader had blamed Centre responsible for the situation and said the railways should have run special trains to take the migrant workers to their hometown as demanded by Uddhav Thackeray.

“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. They don’t want food or shelter, they want to go back home,” Thackeray had tweeted in one of his first reactions.

Also read: What you need to know today

Maharashtra, he said, had raised the issue of enabling the workers to return home.

“A mutual road map set by Union Govt will largely help migrant labour to reach home from one state to another safely and efficiently. Time and again this issue has been raised with the centre,” he said in another tweet.

Later, he toned down the tweets and said the Centre and states are facing a Catch-22 situation.

“The centre has taken immediate cognizance of the issue and is assisting the State actively. We understand the catch 22 situation centre and states face. I’m thankful to PM & HM for understanding the situation, while trying to ensure the safety of home states of migrants,” he tweeted.

“The migrant labour issue persists everywhere. Even as we house more than 6 lakh migrant labour, with breakfast lunch and dinner, the Union and State Govts are coordinating on further relief for the same. We will continue to ensure the comfort of all migrant labour in our camps,” he said in another tweet.