NEW DELHI: The Congress today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to detail the national lockdown exit strategy, wondering what yardsticks the Centre would apply when relaxing the overall shutdown after May 17?
In a video meeting of leaders including chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states, party president Sonia Gandhi asked the PM, “After May 17, what and how? What criteria is the government using to judge how long the lockdown is to continue?”
Backing Sonia, ex-PM Manmohan Singh said, “CMs need to deliberate and ask as to what is the strategy of the Centre to get the country out of the lockdown.”
The CMs flagged fiscal distress with Congress media chairperson Randeep Singh Surjewala later saying they would again write to the PM for financial help. “The CMs were unanimous in saying that the Centre was pushing them towards fiscal stress by not providing economic assistance,” Surjewala said.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh told Gandhi, “We are making arrangements to send 10 lakh migrants home. We have booked 400 trains. The Railways is charging Rs 870 a ticket which Punjab is paying. Since our industry is starting now, some migrants out of 10 lakh might stay back to work.”
He added that the Centre should leave the decision of deciding red zones with district magistrates. “Some joint secretary sitting in the Home Ministry cannot decide which district or zone has to be red in the state. They do not know the ground reality,” Singh said apprising Gandhi of the Montek Singh Ahluwalia-led committee he has set up to recommend economic revival of Punjab.
According to Punjab CM, around 20,000 international travellers and 12,000 from other states were expected to return. The state’s GST arrears of Rs 4,365.37 crore are yet to be paid by the Centre, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said, “The central piece of the Covid strategy is to protect the elderly and those with diabetes and heart conditions.”