Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday said the nationwide lockdown is “the right medicine at the right time but with painful side effects which need to be attended to immediately before they become more dangerous than the disease itself”.
“The poor, especially the daily wage earners, are the worst affected by these side effects and need immediate care. The other low income groups are also not far behind,” he said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal leader lauded “the sense of national responsibility” shown by the people who responded wholeheartedly every single time Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked them to. “People have done their duty. Now, it is time for governments to ensure that their hardships are fully attended to,” he said.
Describing poverty, unemployment and economic slowdown as three immediate, mid-term and long-term side effects of the pandemic, Mr. Badal called for a “graded strategy to fight all three”.
The former Chief Minister said though the lockdown was the only option available to the government, “six weeks was a long time for the poor to survive without income, and particularly without regular supply of food”.
‘Efficient delivery’
“Most of us are not even familiar with the hardships faced by the poor even under normal circumstances. But now, their plight is desperate and needs to be the nation’s immediate and number one priority. Everything else can wait,” said Mr. Badal, adding that the government machinery must be more effective and more efficient in delivery of services, especially food supplies, to the poor.
Mr. Badal said that the government must understand and respect the strong natural and human urge of the beleaguered millions to be in their ancestral homes with their families during this tough period.
“Governments must provide safe modes of travel to the migrants and others to go back to their homes, especially if the lockdown is to be extended further,” said Mr. Badal. He described “containing and fighting unemployment” as the urgent long-term necessity.
The Akali leader emphasised the need for ensuring hassle-free harvesting and procurement of the wheat crop and said that the governments must ensure that no one engaged in these operations is harassed. He urged the Centre to give a “significant bonus” on wheat.
