Centre should implement Nyay scheme: Cong

Congress on Wednesday demanded that the Modi government make immediate provisions of providing food and cash into the hands of millions of Indians who would be financially affected by Coronavirus lockdown.

Among the many suggestions made by the party were implementation of the Nyay Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme which had been a poll promise of the Congress during last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the government should provide direct cash benefits and free rations to daily wagers and give tax rebates to businesses.

Making more concrete suggestions, Former finance minister P. Chidambaram recommended a 10-point action plan which included doubling the amount, both paid and payable, under PM-KISAN to `12,000 and transferring the additional amount immediately to the bank account of each beneficiary as well as bringing tenant farmers under the scheme and transferring `12,000 to their accounts in two equal installments.

He also sought transfer of `3,000 into the accounts of each registered MNREGA worker.

“There will be some duplication despite the de-duplication efforts made by seeding Aadhaar in these accounts. There will be cases where the beneficiary received a double payment. There will be some mistakes. Does not matter. Even

Every ration-card holder should be provided, through ration shops, 10 kg of rice or wheat free as a one-time measure in the next 21 days

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Former finance minister allowing for 15 per cent of ‘wrong payments, it is worth doing these cash transfers”.

Similarly the former FM said that for the urban poor `6,000 can be put into the Jan Dhan accounts of the beneficiaries, adding that the 'no frills or zero balance accounts' opened before the Jan Dhan scheme was launched should be included in this.

Every ration-card holder should be provided, through ration shops, 10 kg of rice or wheat free as a one-time measure in the next 21 days, Mr Chidamabaram suggested. He said the government should ask all registered employers to maintain current levels of employment and wages.

“Guarantee to such employers who do so that the wages of the employees will be reimbursed by the government within 30 days of payment,” he said.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said a cash transfer of `7,500 should be done in every Jan Dhan Account, every PM Kisan Account and every Pension Account just like the Nyay scheme promised by Congress.

He demanded a relief package for farmers, proper procurement and fair price for crops, and suspension of all due recoveries from farmers.

Under severe pressure due to mounting global criticism of it, China on Wednesday lashed out at its critics and said it had “neither created the (Corona)virus nor intentionally transmitted it”.

In a statement issued from New Delhi on Wednesday evening, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Rong also claimed “there is no evidence that China is the source of the virus that caused the Covid-19 although Wuhan city reported the outbreak”.

China also sought to draw parallels with the H1N1 virus, stating that it originated in North America but was never called the “North American Flu”.