Oppn seeks relief package for daily wagers, labourers

As India is bracing itself for a prolonged lockdown to contain the outbreak of coronavirus, Opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, have asked the government to provide an economic package to help stave off the huge financial repercussions of the pandemic.

Mrs Gandhi said that after demonetisation and slowing down of Indian economy, Covid-19 has been a huge setback to millions of daily wage earners, MGNREGA workers, ad-hoc and temporary employees, labourers, farmers and those in the unorganized sectors.

“Even for regular employees, reports suggest that massive layoffs and retrenchments. The government has to put in place a broad based social protection measures including direct cash financial help to these sections”.

She sought a comprehensive relief package for all businesses, especially the Micro, Small and Medium businesses which are under a huge stress on account of

Covid-19. The Congress president said that Covid-19 has also impacted the biggest employment generator, the agriculture sector. She urged the government to consider a special relief package for the agriculture sector also.

On similar note, the former Congress president and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi said that the viral pandemic has hit India’s already sinking economy. “Small, medium enterprises and daily wage labourers are affected the most. Clapping will not help them. An economic package with cash transfers, tax breaks and loan waivers is the need of the hour,” he tweeted.

Congress ally and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was more specific. He reminded the government that the GST returns were due by March 22 in Maharashtra and around the same period in other parts of India too.

Besides this, the Income Tax returns are also due to be filed by March 31, he added.

“Keeping the #Covid_19 pandemic in mind and the current lockdown due to the same, I earnestly urge @PMOIndia & @Income TaxIndia, @GST_Council to consider extending the dates of filing all the above mentioned returns by at least one month without levying any interest and penalty,” he said.

Congress MP Rajiv Gowda said that the Prime Minister should immediately announce a financial relief package to those most vulnerable to the Covid-19 triggered economic distress. “With crude oil price crash, government can use new funds from tax+excise duty hike on petrol. And release delayed MGNREGA payments ASAP!,” he tweeted.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy asked the government to think about an economic emergency to tide over the crisis. “Is now declaration of Economic Emergency becoming inevitable? Government must put doubts at rest,” he tweeted.