Congress Chief Press Conference
LM NEWS 24
LM NEWS 24

Rahul To PM: Take Poor, Daily Wagers Into Account

Congress Chief Press Conference

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take India’s conditions into account, which thereby mandates taking “different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy.”

The Wayanad MP further stated that this needs to be taken into account now as he suspected that the government could have to extend the lockdown period even further.

“The world has been forced to take urgent, immediate measures to contain the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus and India is currently in the midst of a three-week lockdown. I suspect that the government will eventually extend this even further. It is critical for us to understand that India’s conditions are unique. We will be required to take different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy,” Gandhi’s letter read.

“The number of poor people in India who are dependent on a daily income is simply too large for us to unilaterally shut down all economic activity. The consequences of a complete economic shut down will disastrously amplify the death toll arising from the Covid-19,” it added.

Gandhi urged the government to “consider a nuanced approach that takes the complex realities of our people into consideration. Our priority must be to protect and isolate the elderly and vulnerable from the virus and to clearly and strongly communicate to the young the dangers of proximity to older people.”

The Congress leader also warned that a vast number of India’s elderly live in villages and the complete lockdown, which has resulted in youth rushing back to the villages will increase the risk of them “infecting their parents and the elderly population living there”, resulting in a catastrophic loss of life.

Through the letter, he urged the government to set up big dedicated hospitals and manufacturing the required equipments for treatment as fast as possible. He also urged to increase the number of tests to get a more accurate picture of the spread of the infection.

Gandhi said that the Centre should provide help to the migrant workers and labourers struggling to return to their native places from big cities after the lockdown was imposed in the country by providing them assistance and direct financial help.

“It is also absolutely critical that we set up a defensive wall around our key financial and strategic institutions to protect them from the shock wave that is bound to come as the true impact of the virus and our economic shutdown hits us a few weeks from now. Our informal economy and immense network of small and medium businesses and farmers are going to be vital to any rebuilding effort. It is crucial that we engage them in a conversation, build their confidence and protect their interests with correct and timely action,” the letter added.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By agreeing you accept the use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.

Privacy Settings saved!
Privacy Settings

When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Control your personal Cookie Services here.

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features. Without these cookies basic services cannot be provided.

Cookie generated by applications based on the PHP language. This is a general purpose identifier used to maintain user session variables. It is normally a random generated number, how it is used can be specific to the site, but a good example is maintaining a logged-in status for a user between pages.
  • PHPSESSID

Used on sites built with Wordpress. Tests whether or not the browser has cookies enabled
  • wordpress_test_cookie

In order to use this website we use the following technically required cookies
  • wordpress_test_cookie
  • wordpress_logged_in_
  • wordpress_sec

Decline all Services
Accept all Services
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x