A key Congress panel headed by former prime minister Manmohan Singh met on Monday and decided to suggest to the government measures for revival of MSME sector and smooth crop procurement, besides resolution of migrants' problems amid the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus.
Formed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the consultative group, which also has Rahul Gandhi, met for the first time on Monday and demanded that the government immediately deposit a sum of Rs 7,500 in all Jan Dhan accounts, all pension accounts and all PM-Kisan accounts to help the poor and vulnerable tide over this crisis.
The Congress will prepare a detailed plan for revival of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) together with steps to ensure smooth crop procurement and resolving migrants' issues, and will put it before the central government, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Ramesh, who is a member of the party's consultative group on COVID-19 headed by Singh, said the Congress has urged the government to submit Rs 7,500 through direct benefit transfers.
He also said the former prime minister and Rahul Gandhi stressed that priority be given to the MSME sector due to its social and economic importance and because it is one of the largest job providers in the country after agriculture.
"We have worked out a very concrete MSME revival package which we will submit to the central government in a day or two," he told reporters at a press conference through video conferencing.
He said the two leaders also stressed on the need for making positive recommendations to the government to ensure smooth procurement of wheat, mustard and gram.
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The former union minister said the idea of this group is to make specific recommendations to the government in a spirit of constructive cooperation as has been emphasised by the former Congress president repeatedly and also how to make the transition out of the lockdown after May 3.
It will suggest steps to smoothen the transition for different sections of the society, particularly the migrants, students and farmers, he said.
Ramesh said both Singh and Gandhi also stressed on the need for making positive recommendations to the government to ensure smooth crop procurement and resolution of migrants' issues.
"I am sure a compassionate, responsible government can find funds to provide for the vulnerable," he said when asked if the country had funds of this nature to spare.
Ramesh alleged that the Centre was busy "destabilising" the Madhya Pradesh government and was "caught napping in preparation for managing COVID-19" due to which the action was delayed.
"I think, it is a matter of priorities. Right now the most urgent thing in the country is cash transfer. People have to survive, people's livelihoods have been destroyed, lakhs and lakhs of families need immediate assistance.
"I think, a compassionate government, a sensitive or a responsive government must and can find the resources for Rs 7,500 direct transfer to every Jan Dhan Account, to every pension account -- pension of old age, pension of widows and pension of disabled, and into every PM Kisan Account. It is not a question of whether we can find the funds. We must find the funds, and I believe that we can find the funds," he noted.
Ramesh said he hoped the government would "come down from its pedestal" and constructively accept the suggestions put forth by the Congress.
Asked on Congress MPs having divergent views on scrapping of MPLADs funds, he said the opinion expressed by him was his personal view and not the Congress's. Ramesh had gone against the party's stand and welcomed the government's move to scrap MPLADs.
He also supported party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's demand on migrant labour, saying if one should be concerned about the students, one should also be concerned about migrant labour.
"If we can provide logistics and transportation to the students, surely we can provide logistics and transportation facilities to migrant labourers as well," he said.
The Congress leader said these are not Congress's demands, but people's requirements. "We are extending our hands of constructive cooperation, we hope that the government will come down from its pedestal" and accept these suggestions constrctively.