There’s nothing in the package for migrant workers, increasing demand: opposition

Congress leader P Chidambaram said the economic package had nothing on migrant workers (file photo / Tashi Tobgyal express)

OPPOSITION LEADERS on Wednesday criticized the first tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore fiscal stimulus announced by the Center as “disappointing” and a “big zero”, saying it provided no relief to migrant workers and had nothing to stimulate demand.

While congressional leader P Chidambaram said the package was a “cruel blow” to those who work hard every day, West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee said it had nothing for the unorganized sector and the employment generation. CPM Secretary General Sitaram Yechury called the package a “sham”.

Except for the “modest” package for MSMEs, the stimulus package was “disappointing,” Chidambaram said. He said that even the measures for MSMEs were biased in favor of the largest, leaving the large part of the 6.3 million micro, small and medium enterprises “high and dry”.

The former finance minister said that many of the steps announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman were liquidity measures, and also regulatory, that will not stimulate demand as liquidity measures operate on the supply side. Liquidity measures are not equivalent to fiscal support measures, he said, and nowhere in the world are they included in a fiscal stimulus package. “Except for the modest MSME package … I can’t find anything in this package that stimulates the demand side of the economy,” he said.

Here is everything that Nirmala Sitharaman announced as reinforcement measures

However, he welcomed the offer of subordinated debt of Rs 20,000 crore and capital funds of Rs 10 crore for MSMEs, but said that Congress will await the terms and conditions as the devil is in the details.

In dissecting the steps outlined by the Minister of Finance, Chidambaram said: “This government is a prisoner of its own ignorance and fear. The government must spend more, but is unwilling to do so. The government must borrow more, but is unwilling to do so. The government should allow states to borrow more and spend more, but it is not willing to do it. “

He hit the government for not announcing any relief for the thousands of “poor, hungry and devastated” migrant workers, saying it was a “cruel blow” to those who work every day. “There is also nothing in the form of a cash transfer to the bottom half of the population (13 crore families) who have been pushed into destitution,” he said.

Giving the package a “big zero”, TMC Supreme and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told the media: “It is an eyewash to fool people. There is nothing for the unorganized sector , public spending and job creation “. He added: “We hoped that the interests of the states would be examined, the FRBM limit would be increased. But. all that was said yesterday was a bluff. “

CPM’s Yechury said: “The Modi government’s so-called ‘package’ is a sham. Those who need help urgently and immediately walk hungry on the roads. There is nothing for the state governments that have been asking for funds as they are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. “

He added, “What a ‘package’! People’s own money, which is returned to them in packages as refunds and a boost! People’s income tax and savings refunds are returned to them. How can you is this a “stimulus”? “

CPI’s D Raja said the package did not address problems of unemployment and hunger.

Welcoming the Prime Minister’s decision, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said: “There was a need for such a package. The Prime Minister has tried to provide aid to the poor, farmers, the middle class and others.”

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