The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has reached out to other Opposition parties to bring them on a common platform to deliberate on the adverse economic fallout of the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term impact of this.
Also read: Coronavirus lockdown | CPI(M) offers suggestions for economy revival
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP president Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, DMK president M K Stalin, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal and four Left parties, passing on the economic road map drafted by his party and calling for more ideas from others.
In his letter, Mr. Yechury that with the extended lockdown from Monday, the problems and people’s agony would deepen and it was essential for all the parties to put together their heads to find the way ahead.
The Congress had recently sent out feelers to other parties to have a meeting via videoconference.
Mr. Yechury told The Hindu, “It is very necessary for the sake of our country and we are working hard to make it happen. We find that on the one hand problems of people are actually getting compounded and no relief is in sight. The government’s financial package is merely one per cent of the GDP [Gross Domestic Product].”
He said the Union government was getting clueless; first stalling the movement of migrant workers and then herding them back after nearly 40 days of suffering.
“In many places, the CPI(M) is helping migrant workers by buying them tickets to go back. Why should the State governments have to bear the cost. What is the PM CARES Fumd all about for which Mr. Modi is collecting crores of rupees,” he asked.
Immediate tasks
In its economic road map, the party suggested immediate tasks, medium and long term measures. Immediately, to start with, it said, the Centre must make available to every non-income-tax paying household ₹7,500 ar month for three months, and to every individual 10 kg of free grains a month for six months.
The total sum required for such cash and food transfers for the respective periods was estimated to be about 3 per cent of the GDP, on the assumption of a 20 per cent voluntary “dropout” by the rich from the list of beneficiaries, it said. It suggested a wealth tax and a tax on the super-rich. This entire expenditure had to be financed by borrowing from Reserve Bank of India, it said.
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