Gujarat govt attitude towards non-Gujarati migrants 'parochial': PIL in High Court

By Our Representative
A division bench of the Gujarat High Court consisting of Justices JB Pardiwala and SH Vora on Thursday heard a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions for the state government to ferry stranded migrant workers free of cost, insisting, they should not be compelled to pay “thousands of rupees” as ticket fares.
Senior advocate Anand Yagnik, appearing for the PIL filed by Congress MLA from Dasada Naushad Solanki, said, anywhere between 25 and 35 lakh inter-state migrant workers were stranded in Gujarat, and private luxury buses were charging between 2,000 and 20,000 per person as transporting charges, regretting the government was also collecting fare charges to send migrant workers by trains.
Yagnik said, “travelling” or “displacement allowance” was the responsibility of the principal employer, failing which, it becomes the responsibility, particularly during lockdown, of the Gujarat government to bear all the expenditure for the transportation of migrant workers.
He said, about 8,500 ST buses and about 35,000 drivers, conductors and other technical staff, who are paid salaries from the state exchequer, but they are currently unable to perform their normal obligations.
However, he regretted, while the ST buses have been used to bring back Gujarati students from Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and elsewhere, as also Gujarati pilgrims stranded in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Vrindavan and Varanasi, the government is resorting to “blatant discrimination” towards non-Gujarati migrant workers and are not using ST buses for them.
Yagnik said 900 ST buses were used to bring back about 35,000 Gujarati migrant workers back to Saurashtra from Surat, insisting, Gujarat should stop being parochial and start using its more than 8,500 buses to ferry migrants and speed up transporting inter-state migrant workers facing pathetic conditions and hunger due to the lockdown.
Simultaneously taking up the cause of “more than 2.5 lakh inter-state migrant workers working in thousands of brick kiln units across the state, even as paying “pay attention to basic necessities of thousands of salt pan workers working in the Little Rann of Kutch”, Yagnik said, their plight continues to remain “unnoticed”.
Seeking court intervention to pay per person Rs 1,000 to each family member of 6.5 lakh construction workers immediately, Yagnik said, the current amount being paid, Rs 1,000 per family based on ration card, is “absolutely illogical.”
The High Court bench simultaneously heard other related petitions seeking an order calling upon private hospitals not to charge for the treatment of Covid-19 an amount more than that is charged in government hospitals; ensure adequate arrangement of beds in SVP and Civil hospitals of Ahmedabad; direct the government not to reduce number of testings per day; and begin collaborating with civil society.

Comments

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani* India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor* Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas* November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor* Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor* Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Search This Blog