At opposition meet, Sonia Gandhi terms economic package as a 'cruel joke'; attacks Centre

Addressing a virtual meeting of 22 opposition parties on Friday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleged that the Centre had no solutions to address the economic problems arising out of the novel coronavirus crisis. Claiming that the spirit of federalism had been forgotten, she lamented that there was no indication of Parliament being summoned to discuss the current situation. At the same time, Gandhi asserted the need to offer constructive suggestions to the Union government and be the voice of the people.

Former PM HD Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK president MK Stalin, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren also spoke at the meeting. Leaders such as Omar Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Sharad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Badruddin Ajmal and Jitan Ram Manjhi were present on the occasion. The participants of the meeting condoled the death of people caused by Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha. 

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Congress president slams economic package

Currently, there are 1,18,447 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 48,534 patients have been discharged and 3,583 casualties have been reported. In her opening remarks, Sonia Gandhi pointed out that India was facing an economic crisis even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to demonetisation and the reportedly flawed GST. She reminded the Centre that the opposition had thrown its weight behind the Centre's decision to impose a nationwide lockdown despite the suddenness of the move and a lack of preparedness. Maintaining that imposition of successive lockdowns have yielded diminishing returns, she accused the Modi government of failing as far as the COVID-19 testing strategy and import of test kits are concerned.

Observing that the defining image of the pandemic has been lakhs of migrant workers marching on the road, the Congress president termed the announcement of the Rs.20 lakh crore economic package as a "cruel joke" on the country. She contended that the plight of the tenant and landless agricultural farmers, laid-off employees, shopkeepers and the self-employed individuals had been totally ignored. Gandhi added that the demand of the opposition for cash transfer to the poor and setting up of Wage Assistance and Wage Protection Funds had not been accepted. Additionally, she issued a condemnation of the Centre's move to repeal labour laws and allegedly hold a "grand clearance sale" of Public Sector Units. 

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