‘First step in right direction’: Rahul Rahul Gandhi praises govt’s relief package for poor
NEW DELHI : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said the announcements made by the Narendra Modi government are the “first step” in the right direction in fighting against the coronavirus outbreak.
Reacting to the announcement, Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said, “The government announcement today of a financial assistance package, is the first step in the right direction. India owes a debt to its farmers, daily wage earners, labourers, women and the elderly who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing lockdown.”
Rahul Gandhi
Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi had warned that India should be prepared not just for coronavirus but for an impending economic devastation which he compared to a tsunami. “The Indian economy is going to be devastated. You have no idea the painful thing the country has suffered and it is coming. It is like a tsunami is coming,” Gandhi had said.
Rahul Gandhi was responding to the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman where she announced a mega relief package, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan scheme, worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore. The finance minister said the package will help people overcome the hardships they may face due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus in India.
“Today’s measures are intended at reaching out to the poorest of the poor, with food and money in hands, so that they do not face difficulties in buying essential supplies and meeting essential needs,” Nirmala Sitharaman said. The lockdown which will be in force till April 15 has begun to hurt low income groups the most with daily wage earners such as construction workers suddenly becoming jobless.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to expand its footprints across India and now affected almost 650 people. Fourteen have died so far of the disease that it causes – Covid-19.
