Railways want to be super spreader in Kerala: Minister Thomas Isaac slams Centre, asks ministry to stop ranting

Hitting out at the Centre, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said the Railways wanted to be a super spreader in Kerala. He said a train came from Mumbai last week, but the state was informed only after train started.

Amid a political slugfest between the Maharashtra government and railways over special trains for migrants, Kerala minister Thomas Isaac slammed the Centre on Tuesday night for sending trains to the state without prior information.

Alleging that the Railways wanted to be a super spreader of the deadly novel coronavirus in Kerala, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac asked the ministry to “stop ranting and behave responsibly”.

“A train came from Mumbai last week. We were intimated only after train started. Unscheduled stops. Majority of passengers no passes. Anarchy in pandemic times,” Kerala Finance Minister wrote on Twitter.

“Railways want to be super spreader in Kerala. Stop ranting and behave responsibly. At least try to track your trains,” Thomas Isaac tweeted.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier lashed out at Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for his alleged comments that the CM doesn't care about the people of the state, after the state government cancelled an "unannounced train" to Kerala from Maharashtra.

Asked about the alleged comments, Vijayan described it as unfortunate and "totally unbecoming of a union minister."

He said the state government has brought the incident to the attention of the Prime Minister as well. "His (Goyal) comments were unfortunate. It is totally unbecoming of a union minister. He does not even take into consideration the seriousness of the situation. And it's not Piyush Goyal who decides whether the chief minister cares for the people of the state, it's the people who will decide," Vijayan said.

The Kerala case tally touched 963 on Tuesday after the state saw the highest number of cases in a day.

Kerala Chief Minister also warned that the state risks sliding into community transmission and losing all its gains if people under observation fail to follow health guidelines.

"We are on verge of community spread. Those coming from red zones can be potential carriers and they should themselves ensure to be under room quarantine," CM Pinaryi Vijayan said.