Continuing its attack against the BJP-led NDA Government on Day 2 of the announcement of economic packages by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Congress on Thursday termed it as a ‘jumla package’, deeply disappointing and way short of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the nation. It also criticised the Finance Minister alleging her address on both the days was classic display of arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity.
On their part, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party will ensure that the screams of migrant workers reach the government and described them as the ones carrying the country's flag.
Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcements were nothing but a "jumla package" while former Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said the country believed that Prime Minister was serious when he made the "dramatic" announcement of giving 10 per cent of the GDP as a package to revive the economy and support workers and migrant labourers, and that expectations had soared. "The finance minister's announcement dashed all hopes," he added.
Sharing a video of migrant labourers walking on the roads of the country in an attempt to reach their native places amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Rahul said: "There is a dense darkness and these are difficult times, have courage, all of us are standing for the safety of all of them. We will ensure that their screams reach the government and they get the help they deserve. They are not the ordinary public of the country, they are the flag bearers of the country's self-respect. We will never let them bow down."
Priyanka too took to Twitter to urge the Government to at least run busses or any kind of transport to ferry the poor people undergoing so much pain during the entire lockdown period.
Senior party leader Ahmed Patel said, "It is not an economic package. It is an empty package wrapped with speeches since the last three days." And former Union Minister Manish Tewari termed it as “unfortunate” that the entire press conference (of Sitharaman) was a “classic display of arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity".
"We expected that the finance minister would come out with what the government is doing to ferry the migrants who are walking on the roads back to their homes safely. But nothing like that happened," Tewari said.