Union home minister Amit Shah in an exclusive interview with Network 18’s editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi today said the government wanted to strengthen the healthcare facilities in states before sending back migrant workers, as he spoke about India’s battle against Covid-19 and the one year of the Modi government 2.0 in a wide-ranging conversation.

The home minister said the country is well-placed against the coronavirus pandemic as cases are comparatively fewer in India, and the mortality rate, too, is lower compared to the global average. Shah said the entire world is praising how India has managed to control the spread of virus under PM Narendra Modi and praised the work done by states together with the Centre.

"Till now, 12.6 per lakh people in the country have been affected by COVID-19, which is far better than US, Brazil and other countries. India's recovery rate in is above 42 percent, according to the latest data," the home minister said.

In response to the ongoing migrant crisis in the country, Shah said, "Had migrant labourers been sent to the respective states before the lockdown, it would have posed a huge problem on the state governments as they did not have sufficient testing/quarantine facilities at that time. We wanted to first strengthen the healthcare system in states before sending the migrant workers."

Talking about ferrying migrants, Shah said Modi government has arranged buses and trains for the migrants and till now, 55 lakh migrants have been sent to their native states, "The railways has helped migrants in returning home - most of whom have now completed their quarantine period and started living with their families."

"Special trains were started from May 1, but before that on April 20, the government started sending labourers from nearby areas to their states. 41 lakh laborers were sent by bus service. About 4,000 trains were run for migrants, however, some of the labourers lost patience and started walking towards their states so we took many people to the nearest railway station or their native district," Shah said.

Denying allegations that Modi government is not paying Shramik Express fare, Shah said Centre and Indian Railways raised all the expenses, "During this time, two crore people were fed food. Apart from this, the states were given Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 for the train tickets of these migrants."

Speaking on the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package announced by union fnance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the home minister said it will set the economy on track, "Every Indian must use local goods and support PM Modi's call for Vocal for Local."

"Modi government's Vocal for Local will not reduce foreign investments. We are confident that this will give a new impetus to our economy. God also supports those who work with hope and strategy," he said.

First Published:Jun 1, 2020 9:29 PM IST