The measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to mitigate the effects of the ongoing lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic are disappointing and do not provide ‘any actual benefit’ to the common people, the Congress said on Friday.
Addressing the media through video-conferencing, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken the announcements have no meaning at a time when the economy has come to a halt.
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“The problem before the people is that when they have no work or business. What will they do with a loan and how will they repay? The announcements made by the RBI have no meaning. The Congress and the people are disappointed with the announcements. The government should take more measures to mitigate the problems of the poor and the vulnerable,” Mr. Maken said.
The former chief of the Congress in Delhi also put out a 10-point programme for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to help migrants and daily wagers who have lost their incomes during the nationwide lockdown.
Mr. Maken also asked the Delhi government to waive school fees, fixed power charges for shopkeepers and pay 75% salaries of teachers in aided schools and offer micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) 75% of their employees’ salaries for the next three months to help them tide over the current crisis as part of the 10-point demand charter.
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The Congress leader also demanded a ₹7,500 cash incentives to migrants, an unemployment allowance, advance payment of pension to senior citizens and widows and risk allowance to sanitation and frontline health workers.
Making a point about ramping up testing facilities, Mr. Maken alleged that the pizza delivery boy who tested positive in south Delhi on Thursday was initially testing by a government hospital as he didn’t have foreign travel history.
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He also asked whether Delhi had entered the community transmission stage (stage-3) of the virus as 135 people have been kept “under investigation”.
“We suggest Standard Operating Procedures for delivery boys should be prepared and be notified as regulations so that they are binding on everyone. Protection gears, including sanitisers, mask, and hand gloves, should be provided by employers,” he said.
Mr. Maken also cited the example of Rajasthan and Punjab governments, both Congress-ruled States, where many of these demands have been announced.
Former Congress chief also praised the Congress ruled States and in a tweet said, “Where there is a will, there is a way” as he cited the example of Chhattishgarh building a new 200-bed hospital within 20 days.
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“Congress-ruled states — Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry — are putting up a strong fight against COVID-19. New, special hospitals are being readied, like in Chhattisgarh this 200-bedded hospital especially for Coronavirus treatment has been readied in merely 20 days. Where there is a will, there is a way,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.