New Delhi, After scores of migrant labourers on Tuesday assembled near the Bandra railway station in Mumbai and raised demand for transportation to go to their native places, the police had to use force to disperse the crowd for violating the lockdown measures in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the Congress has criticised the use of force and appealed for compassion on the part of the police, saying, "Give them Roti, not Lathi."

Congress leader Anand Sharma appealed to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the state administration to give back the migrants their dignity and rights. "Give them rotis, not lathis… This repression is an unforgivable crime against humanity," he said.

"It was heart rendering to see the plight of the migrant labourers, desperately waiting for food and relief. This inhumane treatment of our poor countrymen is a shame and blot on Indian democracy," Sharma added.

Social distancing went for a toss when over 3,000 stranded, hungry and angry migrants from different parts of India thronged near the Bandra railway station on Tuesday, demanding that they should be given transportation to return to their native places immediately.

The Mumbai Police, which attempted to cajole them from jamming there in such large numbers, resorted to a mild lathi charge when sections of the restive hordes threatened to go out of control.