Sonia condemns unplanned lockdown, ‘miserly’ relief

Sonia Gandhi, the interim president of the Congress, said on Thursday that while the 21-day lockdown may have been required to fight Covid-19, the unplanned manner in which it was implemented caused chaos and pain, provoking a reaction from BJP president JP Nadda who accused the Congress of politicising the issue.

Gandhi was speaking at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which also found fault with the relief package announced by the government. “The Financial Action Plan (FAP) I announced on March 25 was miserly, hopelessly inadequate and left out several vulnerable sections. It failed to instil confidence in the poor and, as a result, we witnessed the tragic spectacle of thousands of migrant workers desperately trying to go back to their villages,’’ it said in a statement.

Gandhi hit out at the Centre over the exodus of migrant workers, saying that the “tragic spectacle” will “forever remain a blot on the Modi government”.

Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said the comments were “unfortunate, false, and unnecessary”.

Thousands of migrant workers began fleeing cities for their homes on foot last week. The Centre announced an economic stimulus plan to provides direct cash transfers and food to the poor.

The CWC, which is the Congress’s highest decision-making body, demanded FAP II to reassure the poor and also to provide adequate financial support to the sections left out earlier.

“The NYAY [minimum income guarantee] scheme put forward by the Congress [as a prepoll promise last year] offers a useful model that can be adapted and implemented,” said the resolution, passed after Gandhi chaired a CWC meeting via video conferencing.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said the country has to fight Covid-19 with a specific strategy and consultation, and stressed the need to ensure that the most vulnerable and the poor as also aged are protected. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Congress stands one with the nation to take on the challenge posed by the pandemic.