The Congress Working Committee (CWC) blamed the government on Thursday for "erring" on coronavirus testing and demanded more COVID-19 examinations even as it sought setting up of a task force comprising global experts for measures to revive the country's economy.
At a meeting of the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, held through video-conferencing, it was also suggested that the government immediately come up with "financial action plan 2" to help those affected due to the ongoing 21-day countrywide lockdown.
The CWC accused the Centre of not giving any serious thought to the deteriorating economic situation in the country, even as it said the government had erred in adopting the policy of limited testing for COVID-19.
It called for more tests for coronavirus and said extensive testing in many countries had led to containment of the spread of the deadly virus.
Suggesting various measures, the CWC said the government should focus on containment of the virus by extensive testing, medical treatment to the infected people and substantial enhancement of the capacity, infrastructure and human resources to fight the epidemic.
It said the government should focus on livelihood support to the poor, especially daily wage earners, migrant workers, casual and temporary workers, laid-off workers, self-employed people, farmers, tenant farmers and landless agricultural workers.
Besides, it said the government had to ensure maintenance of supply of goods and services.
The CWC called upon the government to take steps to re-start the engines of economic growth.
It also called for making adequate and comprehensive preparations for immediate harvesting and procurement of wheat and other rabi crops at the minimum support price.
"The CWC is of the opinion that the government has not given any thought whatsoever to the deteriorating economic situation. This does not brook any delay.
"The CWC demands that the government should immediately appoint an Economic Task Force consisting of world renowned economists to suggest three plans: an emergency plan within one week; a short to medium term plan within one month; and a medium to long term plan within three months in order to protect and revive the economy," a statement read out by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal said.
AICC chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "On containment and treatment, the government has erred in adopting a strategy of limited testing. A lockdown or any other kind of restriction is futile unless it is accompanied by extensive testing."
"The flawed strategy must be revised and testing must be scaled up urgently," he added.
Surjewala said the CWC came to the conclusion that the government had "miserably failed to provide adequate livelihood support to the poor" as its financial action plan 1 was "miserly, hopelessly inadequate and left out several vulnerable sections".
"Financial Action Plan I failed to instill confidence in the poor and, as a result, we witnessed the tragic spectacle of thousands of migrant workers desperately trying to go back to their villages by any means whatsoever, including on foot. That spectacle will forever remain a blot on the Modi government.
"The CWC demands that the government should immediately announce Financial Action Plan II that will reassure the poor people and also provide adequate financial support to the sections that were left out," a resolution adopted by the committee said, adding that the NYAY scheme put forward by the Congress offered a useful model that could be adopted and implemented.
It also said the onus was on the Centre to gear up procurement through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other agencies and ensure remunerative prices for farmers.
If people had to survive during a lockdown, the supply chains must immediately be restored and maintained throughout the period of restrictions, the CWC said.
It also called for cutting the GST rates for three months on goods of mass consumption, mandatorily postponing tax-payment deadlines and EMI dates to June 30 and beyond.
"We urge the central government to make arrangements for the return to India of thousands of students stranded abroad after appropriate COVID-19 testing," the committee said.
It also noted that most of the state governments had complained of inadequate financial resources as the Centre had not released their share in the GST.
"We call upon the Union government to forthwith release the states' share in GST to enable them to fight COVID-19 more effectively," the CWC said after the four-hour meeting.
The Congress said it would require massive resources, amounting to Rs 5-6 lakh crore, and anything less would be insufficient and might actually exacerbate the situation.
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