The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the Union and State governments to provide relief to people struggling to cope with the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19.
All non-income tax paying families should be provided with financial assistance of ₹7,500 per month to tide over this challenging period when all essential commodities have become costlier due to skyrocketing fuel prices, CPI(M) district secretary P. Anjaneyulu said at a press conference on Tuesday where he spoke about the resolutions adopted at the party’s Mahasabha held in the city the previous day.
Ex gratia to the families of those who succumbed to the virus remained out of reach for a majority of the families as governments downplayed the severity of the pandemic, the CPI(M) leaders said, and claimed that authorities were not being transparent on the exact number of people who had succumbed to the virus. Officials are not issuing the much-needed certificate that mentions the cause of death as COVID-19, Mr. Anjaneyulu alleged.
Party leaders alleged that the ruling YSRCP, which came to power after promising ahead of the elections that it would obtain Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh and ensure implementation of all infrastructure projects as per the Andhra Pradesh State Bifurcation Act, should lead an all-party delegation to Delhi to impress upon the Centre to fulfill the bifurcation promises in toto, he said.
The promised big ticket projects, including a sea port at Ramayapatnam and Donakonda industrial corridor, have remained only on paper, he lamented. A new 19-member CPI(M) city committee was elected with G. Ramesh as its secretary.