Govt clueless, has no lockdown exit strategy: Congress
In meet with Sonia Gandhi, party CMs accuse govt of taking arbitrary decisions, BJP says Congress driving a wedge
NEW DELHI: Several Congress chief ministers on Wednesday accused the Union government of taking decisions arbitrarily and not consulting them on key issues such as the classification of Covid-19 zones, while party chief Sonia Gandhi asked the Centre to spell out its lockdown exit strategy.
In a discussion between Sonia Gandhi, the CMs, and other senior Congress leaders via video conferencing, the demand for a sizeable stimulus package for the states -- to combat the pandemic and the economic fallout of the lockdown -- was also raised.
“What after May 17? What criteria is the government using to judge how long the lockdown will continue?” party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala quoted Gandhi as saying.
NEWDELHI: Several Congress chief ministers on Wednesday accused the Union government of taking decisions arbitrarily and not consulting them on key issues such as the classification of Covid-19 zones, while party chief Sonia Gandhi asked the Centre to spell out its lockdown exit strategy.
In a discussion between Sonia Gandhi, the CMs, and other senior Congress leaders via video conferencing, the demand for a sizeable stimulus package for the states -- to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout of the national lockdown -was also raised, according to the Congress party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
“What after May 17? What criteria is the government using to judge how long the lockdown will continue?” Surjewala quoted Gandhi as having said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back to many of the issues raised, saying the Congress was politicising the Covid-19 fight, particularly at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken along all the chief ministers by holding multiple interactions with them since the start of the lockdown in late March.
Modi first announced the 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the deadly pathogen on March 25. The lockdown was then extended till May 3, and later till May 17, but with several relaxations that first kicked in on April 20 and then at the start of the third phase on May 4.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also talked about the path ahead. “We need to know, as Soniaji said, what will happen after Lockdown 3.0? The chief ministers need to deliberate and ask as to what is the strategy of the government of India to get the country out of lockdown,” Singh told the meeting, according to Surjewala.
Former Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi said the central piece of strategy to fight Covid-19 is to protect the elderly and those who are diabetic and with heart conditions, Surjewala added.
The meeting came days after Sonia Gandhi announced that her party will pay for the train travel of stranded migrant workers -- a move that triggered a slugfest between the Congress and the BJP. The opposition party accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of stranded migrant workers while the BJP claimed that railways was bearing 85% of the fare cost, and state governments had to pay 15%, thus allowing migrants to go back home free of cost.
Giving further details of Wednesday’s meeting, Surjewala quoted Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh as having said that his government had set up two committees to strategise on how to come out of the lockdown and on suggesting ways and means for the economic revival. “Our concern is the people sitting in Delhi are deciding on classification of zones without knowing what is happening on the ground,” he said, according to Surjewala.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot demanded financial assistance from the Centre to sustain the impact of Covid-19. “Until an extensive stimulus package is given, how will states and the country run? We have lost ~10,000 crore of revenue. States have repeatedly requested the Prime Minister for a financial package but we are yet to hear from the Centre,” Surjewala quoted Gehlot as saying.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said states were facing an acute economic crisis and needed immediate financial assistance. “Chhattisgarh is one state where 80% of small industries have restarted and nearly 85,000 workers have returned to work,” he said at the meeting.
Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy said the Centre was deciding on zones without consulting the states.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram said at the meeting that financial condition of the states was dire but no money was being allocated by the Centre.
The BJP hit back on all these issues. “The Congress is trying to create a wedge between chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states and the non-Congress ruled states. At a time when everyone should join forces, questions are being raised about when the lockdown will be relaxed,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
“The way Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are raising questions every day it is weakening the war against coronavirus,” he added.