Terming the Centre’s stimulus package of ₹1.7 lakh crore as ‘woefully inadequate’ to deal with the economic slump in the wake of COVID-19, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday said the Union Finance Ministry would need to come up with a package of at least ₹21 lakh crore or 10% of India’s GDP to steer the country out of its economic straits.
‘Riots could be reality’
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Chavan said the Centre, whilst dealing with the medical crisis brought about by the pandemic, could not afford to postpone an economic solution and warned that if the economy crumbled, public rioting could well be a reality in the country.
“The Centre must think quickly of injecting the economy with a stimulus package along the lines of the U.S., Britain and Germany which were 10%, 16% and 22% of their GDPs. It is pointless to hope that this crisis will be resolved anytime soon,” the legislator from Karad South said.
Mr. Chavan said there was a special need to come up with some plan to account for the massive unemployment on account of the havoc wreaked by the contagion. Till the lockdown is lifted, there is a pressing need to provide food for labourers and the millions in the country’s unorganised sector.
“The Centre must direct States to register every landless labourer and provide them with temporary ration cards to tide the crisis. The ruling party at the Centre and the Prime Minister, rather than worrying about their image at this stage, must think of alternate ways to secure loans to provide for their stimulus package,” the Congress leader said.
He observed that as industries had come to a virtual standstill, and the country’s service sector was operating at less than 5% of its total capacity, it was imperative that agriculture be given impetus in order to preserve farmers’ livelihoods. He also said while the Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat programme should not have taken place, this was not the time for indulging in finger-pointing.
“Law and Order is the preserve of Central government hands and it is puzzling as to how they could have given permission to the Tablighi Jamaat’s conclave. In Maharashtra, [the Maha Vikas Aghadi government] had cancelled a similar event. However, this is not the time for pointing fingers. I appeal to everyone not to put a communal colour over events and desist from aggravating social tensions,” he said, adding that if the Central government had acted with more alacrity and shut down airports like the Mumbai International Airport earlier than it did, the spread of the virus might have been slowed.
‘Not enough testing’
Urging people not to view the lockdown in emotional terms, but in medical terms, Mr. Chavan said it would be a grave mistake to be complacent and think that India’s numbers are less than the most afflicted European countries or the United States as India was still not testing enough people.
