WATCH: When Shashi Tharoor reached out to Kerala migrant labourers in Bengali

In a video posted on Twitter, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged migrant labourers from Bengal, settled in Kerala, not to violate the lockdown. In confident Bangla, which has gone viral on social media, Tharoor assured the workers that their basic sustenance and supply needs will be taken care of by the state.

"I am Shashi Tharoor, member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram. I understand that all of you from Bengal, settled in Kerala, are in a tough situation. But, state borers are closed and a return to your home state is not possible. The public and the government assure you of all possible help, and we request you to stay where you are. The Kerala government will make sure you receive food and supplies," he could be heard saying in the video. 

Last Sunday, hundreds of migrant labourers had taken to the streets at Paippad in Kerala's Kottayam district, defying the lockdown demanding transportation to their home states. The migrant labourers, who had been residing around Paippad, gathered at the town centre and raised slogans. 

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dubbed as "unfortunate" the mass protests by migrant labourers across the state, claiming that there were "anti-social elements" at play. He said all measures have been taken to ensure that the guest workers are properly accomodated in the state. "Kerala has always kept its warm vigil in taking up the issues of guest workers. We have arranged food and medical facilities for them when the corona transmission began disrupting their job prospects," he wrote on Facebook. 

Across the country, there has been a rush of migrant labourers attempting to head back home after a national lockdown was imposed owing to the coronavirus. Workers from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who worked in areas like Mumbai and the national capital, found themselves in the literal deep end of affairs. Left with no means to earn a living, they were forced to undertake long journeys on foot to their far-flung homes in the absence of any means of transport. Most of them had to walk hundreds of kilometres to reach their hometowns.