Convene all-party meeting on Covid situation in Punjab: SAD to Capt

Says they must come together to find ways to provide financial relief to different sections of society amid the ongoing lockdown

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday urged chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to call an all-party meeting to discuss the precarious situation in the wake of rising number of Covid-19 deaths in Punjab and find ways to provide financial relief to different sections of society.

A file photo of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal during a press conference.

Party president Sukhbir Singh Badal said this while presiding over a meeting at the party head office in Chandigarh.

The Akali leaders said the Congress government in the state should try to take everyone along in the fight against the pandemic and an all-party meeting was necessary to ensure that everyone worked in synergy and assist the government to provide necessary aid to people.

The SAD chief also reviewed the relief being provided by the party and its youth wing. He said aid had been extended to 50 assembly constituencies and efforts will be made to reach out to all segments in the coming days.

The party leaders also took note of the sufferings of people due to the ongoing lockdown in the state and stressed the need to give relief to all sections of society.

The worst-affected were taxi operators, rickshaw pullers, small shopkeepers and labourers, they said, adding that the government should provide financial relief to them.

They also asked the government to provide relief to the middle class by deferring bank loan installments or waive installments for six months. The government should also address the grievances of the traders at the earliest, they said.

On black marketing of Covid cure medicines, Sukhbir said it was unfortunate that private hospitals were charging lakhs of rupees from infected people and the government was not intervening in the matter.