In a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has pledged her support for the complete lockdown of the country in tackling the coronavirus crisis. Along with that, she has also listed down suggestions she thinks is necessary.
The death toll in the country reached 13 on Thursday and the number of infections rose to 649. In the wake of this, the opposition parties, especially congress have shown solidarity with the government. After P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor, now Congress Chief have shown support through a letter addressed to the Prime Minister.
In the letter, she acknowledged the medical crisis in the country and called for the unity of the nation. She said it is the time to rise above ‘partisan interests’ and serve the country. She also mentioned that as the President of the Indian National Congress, she will support the Union government at every step.
Sonia Gandhi suggests a range of measures
The Congress chief later suggested measures that, according to her, would further help the country in addressing the massive crisis. She stressed that every healthcare worker should be provided with the N-95 masks and hazmat suits. To ensure that no medical professional contract the disease from a patient, Sonia Gandhi asked the government to scale up the manufacturing of the masks.
She also called for a special ‘Risk Allowance’ package for all healthcare professionals that should be announced retrospectively from March 1st for a period of 6 months. She also asked the government to set up dedicated portals to facilitate the dissemination of critical information regarding the pandemic.
Gandhi also advocated for deferring all loan recoveries for up to six months including the loans of the salaried class.
Taking account of the economic shortcomings in the near future, Gandhi demanded the Union government to announce broad-based social protection measures including direct cash transfer for the section of people who are the worst hit because of the lockdown.
The lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday and is scheduled to remain for the next 21 days hoping the situation would get any better. Meanwhile, the Finance minister announced various packages to tackle the economic crisis of the poor and the daily wagers.
