The Congress Working Committee, which met here yesterday for the second time after the lockdown began, slammed the BJP for fanning communal divisions.
It also discussed a four-point plan and demanded that the government formulate an exit strategy for the lockdown.
The CWC, the party’s highest decision-making body, discussed the issues of containment and treatment; livelihood support; maintenance of supplies; and economic revival.
“The CWC notes with concern that the BJP is seeking to inflame communal divisions even as the entire nation battles Covid-19. The virus does not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, religion or gender,” said the CWC resolution.
The Congress said that the fight must be bottom-up instead of top-down. The government only has a one size fits all policy currently, it pointed out.
The CWC said states should be given adequate financial support starting with releasing their full share of the GST collected so far and allowing them greater fiscal space to borrow. Providing free cooked food to millions of families every day through NGOs, though laudable, is not a solution even in normal times, it added.
The party demanded Rs 7,500 through direct benefit transfer to every poor family and 10kg of food grain (rice or wheat) and 1kg of pulses and sugar to every individual. The CWC said migrant workers who wish to return to their home should be allowed to travel under strict conditions of health safety, and be provided with adequate money and food in the interim; they should also be allowed to return to work post the lockdown and compensation should be paid to the families of those migrant workers who have lost their lives in this period of crisis.
“The CWC questioned the Economic Task Force announced by the prime minister a month ago which has not yet presented a plan to the government and demanded complete loan moratorium on agricultural and other loans for a period of at least one year along with complete interest subvention.
“Testing, tracing, quarantine and treatment are crucial to containing the disease,” the Congress stressed.
The party welcomed the ordinance to protect doctors and other medical personnel from violence.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi said “when we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred. Grave damage is being done to our social harmony. Our party will have to work hard to repair the damage.” .
She said the compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity that should be forthcoming from the central government is conspicuous by its absence and the focus must continue to be on successfully engaging with health, food security and livelihood issues.
Eleven crore people who are in need of subsidised food grains remain outside of the public distribution system, she pointed out. At least 12cr jobs have been lost in the first phase of the lockdown, she said. “While the procurement policies and disrupted supply chains need to be fixed without any delay, facilities must be made available to the farmers for the next round of kharif crops which will begin in the coming two months,” said Sonia.
A police officer questions a pedestrian at a checkpoint during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus in the old quarters of New Delhi yesterday.
