The Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Polit Bureau on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Tuesday of extending the free ration scheme till November was inadequate to meet the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
“The announcements made by the Prime Minister are totally inadequate to meet the crisis of survival and livelihood being faced by crores of our people. The provision of 5 kg of foodgrain and 1 kg of pulses is grossly inadequate to meet the survival needs of the people who have been deprived of their livelihood or food for over three months. Ten kg of foodgrain per individual per month for a period of six months is the minimum that needs to be ensured,” the statement said.
The CPI (M) Polit Bureau said at least 14 crore people had lost their jobs during the lockdown and a cash transfer of at least ₹7,500 per month for six months to all families under the income tax bracket was needed.
“The claim to provide jobs to all returned workers under MGNREGA is a fallacy. The provision of 100 days work per year for an additional one crore people requires an allocation of ₹2.46 lakh crore. Budgetary allocations plus the announced measures during the lockdown amount to less than ₹1.5 lakh crore together,” the statement said.
The Polit Bureau demanded that the PM Cares fund be used to augment public healthcare facilities, provide the ₹7,500 cash transfers for six months and 10 kg of foodgrains per month to every needy person for the next six months.
