BJP Karnataka comes full circle, blames Nehru for 2020 migrant crisis

Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had made headlines after interacting with migrants workers attempting to walk home amid the pan-India lockdown.

News agency ANI reported that the migrants in question had been walking homewards, and had interacted with Gandhi near Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar flyover. Following the interaction, party volunteers had made arrangements for vehicles to transport them to their homes.

Since then, Gandhi's meeting has become a topic of discussion for the BJP and its leaders. Speaking at a press conference to announce the relief package to revive the economy amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called Gandhi's actions "dramebaazi" and suggested that he should have carried their suitcases and walked with them. Another Union Minister, RK Singh had wondered if Gandhi had remembered migrants "only after 50 days".

On Monday, the Congress leader took to Twitter stating that from the next day, "their incredible story of grit, determination and survival" could be viewed on his YouTube channel.

In response, the BJP Karnataka Twitter handle, well known for its sometimes controversial comments, said that the migrants wouldn't have been struggling in 2020 if previous Congress leaders had "worked for India during their rule"

"Didn't they only work for the Gandhi Dynasty, dear Rahul Gandhi?" it asked in a tweet.

Now to be fair, Rahul Gandhi had not done much to antagonise the ruling party by talking to the migrants. In a time of crisis he had interacted with and helped some people travel home. And while this can be interpreted as a dig at the Centre and it's handling of the situation, netizens were quick to point out that the BJP Karnataka's comments were odd.

Many urged the handle and perhaps by extension the party, to leave the past alone, focusing instead on the current situation and how that could be alleviated.

"States like UP & Bihar, most migrant workers are from these states & these states mostly BJP & allies ruled after Congress' defeat. Had BJP & allies developed UP & Bihar these migrant workers would have got jobs in their home states (sic)," commented one user.

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