Congress demands "Economic Task Force" to improve economy
The Congress has asked the union government to appoint "Economic Task Force" so that the country's economy could be handled in a better way in the wake of coronavirus crisis. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), after its meeting held through video conferencing, issued a resolution criticizing it for not applying "any thought" on the economic situation.
Congress demands "Economic Task Force" to improve economy
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday asked the BJP-led NDA government to appoint an "Economic Task Force" to deal with the deteriorating economic situation of the country in the current scenario.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met for the first time through video conferencing after the nationwide lockdown was imposed due to Coronavirus crisis, said that the government was not given "any thought" on the economic situation of the country.
KC Venugopal on attack on doctors
The CWC meeting was conducted under the leadership of Congress working President Sonia Gandhi in which party's senior leader including K C Venugopal, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, A K Antony and many others, along with the four chief ministers of Congress-led state governments.
"The CWC is conscious that is meeting under extraordinary circumstances as India and the whole world faces an unprecedented crisis the Rapid spread of coronavirus that has the potential to claim hundreds of thousands of lives and the world's economy," Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal told media after the meeting.
"The order of priorities before the country and government is quite clear. Firstly, containment of the spread of the virus by extensive testing and medical treatment to the infected person. Secondly, livelihood support to the poor people. Thirdly, maintenance of supply of goods and services. Fourthly, preparatory and primitive measures to deal with sliding economy. Fifthly, make adequate and comprehensive preparations for immediate harvesting and procurement of Rabi crops," the statement said.
Commenting on containment and treatment of coronavirus, Congress alleged that the flawed strategy must be revised and testing must be scaled up urgently. "Simultaneously, the government must undertake master production and procurement of personal protection equipment to make them widely available for doctors, nurses and health workers. Medical infrastructure should be expanded on a war footing," it added.
The Congress said that the government has "failed miserably" to provide adequate livelihood support to the poor, and urged it to immediately announce Financial Action Plan II that will reassure the poor people and will provide adequate financial support to the sections of the society that were left out including farmers, landless agricultural workers, MGNREGA workers, Jan Dhan account holders etc.
The implementation of NYAY scheme has also been suggested by the CWC to the government. Congress also appealed to the government to forthwith release the states share in GST to enable them to fight COVID-19 effectively.
"The fight against coronavirus must be unitedly fought by central and state governments. Majority of the state governments have complained of inadequate financial resources with the central government not releasing states' GST share," Venugopal said.
Talking about Indore incident, wherein a team of doctors and civic officials were attacked by an unruly mob, Venugopal told ETV Bharat: "This was a very unfortunate incident that took place. On behalf of the entire Congress party, I want to appeal to the people that this is a time of crisis and we have to deal with it in a very calm manner. At this time, the government should also ensure that the doctors are well protected as they are the actual warriors of this war. We have to strengthen them."