New Delhi: Former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram criticized the Centre for the current dire state of the migrant workers.
The senior Congress leader tweeted on Sunday with a thread of 4 tweets, saying, “The most loyal horse in the stable of the BJP government is the Times of INDIA newspaper. Here are some gems from today’s paper that I hope the PM and his ministers will read:
https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1261891727297839105
https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1261891729113919489
https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1261891730976145410
https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1261892965217325056
Chidambaram brought to light the downfall in the weekly income of people. He states that according to a research by the University of Chicago and University of British Columbia, more than 89% people have zero weekly income during the lockdown when people need money more than ever.
He also spoke about the migrants who come to the cities to find job to serve their livelihood, are now worried and taking extreme measures to go back to their homes.
The former finance minister said people are walking to their homes in distress and many say that they want to reach home as there is no way to feed themselves in cities being jobless.
He advised Azim Premji and Venu Srinivasan to support a cash transfer of Rs 5000-7000 per month to each poor household and migrant worker for at least 3 months.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a statement on Saturday, backed the same resort and advocated again for direct cash transfer. He said, “52 days have passed since India was put under lockdown. On one hand, the Nation is fighting Covid-19 and on the other, our farmers, migrant labourers, shopkeepers, salaried classes and small & medium industries i.e. MSMEs are facing an unprecedented economic crisis.”
“Extend ‘Income Support’ to at least 13 crore poorest households. Transfer Rs 7,500 preferably to each household. Even if Rs 5,000 is transferred to each of the 13 crore households, it will amount to a total of only Rs 65,000 crore, which we can afford,” he added.
“The Government is duty bound to ensure the safe return of all our migrant brothers and sisters to their homes, free of cost. Steps must be taken for their protection and wellbeing and to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect,” the statement further said.
