Cong’s Covid outreach to focus on daily wagers

NEW DELHI: The Congress has modified its Covid-19 outreach in the aftermath of the second wave of the pandemic to focus more on the daily wage earners and address their health and economic issues, a circular issued by the party has said.

The letter, dated June 13 and issued by KC Venugopal, general secretary of the All India Congress Committee, told the state units that “the party aims at providing relief especially to those who have kept essential services running but are not recognised as frontline workers”.

The letter also identified farmers, agricultural labourers, street vendors, artisans, washermen, weavers, potters, masons and carpenters in the rural areas of the country as targets for this outreach campaign.

This outreach programme has come amid the party’s demand to the Centre for compensation to Covid-19 victim’s families. The circular said this outreach will help disseminate information regarding issues related to Covid-19 and postCovid care and in “identifying the demands of the affected families in order to raise them politically”. In the urban and semi-urban areas, the party wants to approach “auto/battery and cycle rickshaw drivers, plumbers, electricians, gardeners, mechanics, domestic workers, slum dwellers, delivery boys and street vendors”.