Congress now demands 'supplementary budget' amid COVID; claims Feb Budget 'irrelevant'

Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday demanded a 'supplementary budget' to be released for the year remarking that the Union budget released on February 1 had become 'irrelevant'. The Congress leader stated that keeping in mind the pandemic and the crisis faced by the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should devise a new supplementary budget in June. He added that the new budget should include new taxation, borrowing plans, and revised expenditure and should be presented and approved through the Lok Sabha. 

Read: Congress' Prithviraj Chavan Tells Govt To Borrow '$1 Trillion' Gold From Religious Trusts

Chavan's Gold 'appropriation' demand

Chavan's suggestion for a supplementary budget comes weeks after he recommended the Centre to 'appropriate' gold stock of religious trusts in the country, which would help to generate at least one trillion dollars for the COVID-19 crisis. Taking to Twitter, Chavan wrote, "Government must immediately appropriate all the gold lying with all the Religious Trusts in the country, worth at least $1 trillion, according to the World Gold Council. The gold can be borrowed through gold bonds at a low-interest rate. This is an emergency".

After BJP slammed his suggestion, asking the Congress party's stance on the issue, the former Maharashtra CM claimed that his tweet had been 'deliberately twisted.' Posting a 2016 reply by former MoS Finance Jayant Sinha in the Lok Sabha, he stated that the Gold Deposit Scheme had been commenced by the BJP-led Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Chavan also threatened that he would initiate legal action for the attempt to communalise his suggestion. 

Read: 'Gold Appropriation' Row: Prithviraj Chavan Clarifies; Cites Monetization Scheme

Rs 20 lakh crore financial package 

Last month Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a combined stimulus package worth Rs 20 lakh crore (about $266 Billion) and had stressed on self-reliance to revive the economy which is under strain due to the COVID-19 crisis. The financial package worth Rs. 20 Lakh crore is 10% of India's GDP. PM Modi mentioned that this would benefit the workers, hawkers, street vendors, farmers, the business class, etc. The Prime Minister added that special emphasis has been paid to land, labour, liquidity, and laws. The details of the package were announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, May 13.

Read: BJP Slams Prithviraj Chavan's 'gold Appropriation' Demand, Asks 'Is This Cong's Stance?'

Read: Congress' Prithviraj Chavan Tells Govt To Borrow '$1 Trillion' Gold From Religious Trusts