Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh has also expressed his concern about the truck collision which has killed 24 migrant workers. In a tweet, the minister has written in Hindi that he feels saddened to learn about the deaths of migrant workers. Like PM Modi he also gave his condolences to the family members of the victims.
The opposition has slammed the center for the mishap and according to Akhilesh Yadav, it is not just death but murder. In a series of tweets, the Samajwadi Party leader has expressed his grief and also questioned authorities and their followers about a lack of sensitivity toward the migrant worker crisis. He has written in Hindi how could people stay silent after seeing and hearing about the heart-wrenching incident? The party has also declared that it will provide Rs 1 lakh to help the families of those who have died in the accident.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has questioned the arrangements made by the government for transporting the migrant workers? In a tweet, she asked why the government is not organizing buses for the workers to reach home safely. She said the situation is akin to government deliberately ignoring despite being witness to all the problems.
Rahul Gandhi has also expressed his grief over the incident. He wrote on Twitter "I am saddened by the news of the death of 24 laborers and the injuries to many people in Auraiya of Uttar Pradesh. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured well soon."
The migrant crisis is one of the biggest fallouts of the nationwide lockdown. Since transport was banned during the period, many workers had started walking to their homes. For many, this meant a journey of hundreds of kilometres. According to reports, many workers have died due to exhaustion and road accidents. To mitigate the crisis, the central government has started special train services to take stranded workers to their homes.