Congress leader Sudhir Sharma urges Centre to rework ₹20 lakh crore package - Hindustan Times
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Congress leader Sudhir Sharma urges Centre to rework 20 lakh crore package

Hindustan Times, Dharamshala | By, Dharamshala
May 18, 2020 05:36 PM IST

In a press statement issued here, Sharma said that before the country was hit by Covid-19, small businesses with weak revenues were already struggling with cash flows, while daily-wagers were impacted majorly.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and senior Congress leader Sudhir Sharma on Monday flayed the Centre’s economic stimulus package of 20 lakh crore describing it as “insane”.

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“The government’s relief and fiscal stimulus plan was in the making since late March, still, the government came out with a flawed package,” he said adding that the government must rework on the package to revive the ailing economy.

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In a press statement issued here, Sharma said that before the country was hit by Covid-19, small businesses with weak revenues were already struggling with cash flows, while daily-wagers were impacted majorly.

In fact, specific sectors like tourism, entertainment and aviation were bleeding in the last fiscal due to steps taken by the BJP government like demonetisation and flawed Goods and Services (GST), Tax, he said.

Through, the 20 lakh crore package, Sharma said, the government intends to undertake reforms across eight sectors as part of the Prime Minister’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Scheme—a post-pandemic plan that’s aimed at boosting the economy.

“The source of funding the entire scheme is still a secret for everyone. Most part of the package is in liquidity and guarantees and unlike many other major economies in the world, there is not much direct cash support or demand push,” he said.

The Congress leader said that the government announced a big package for MSMEs but did not do anything to protect the wages, salaries, and paycheques of about 11 crore people employed in this sector.

These people need to know whether or not their wages will be paid,” he said adding that there was palpable tension and rising uncertainty among the working people of the country and their families.

He said that the migrant workers walking hundreds of miles to their native places don’t really get the money.

“The Centre has not given a clear signal of assistance to private firms which have already started large scale retrenchments and lay-offs, besides the pay cuts. Also, the package does not address the needs of small retailers. Stores that are shut still need to pay rentals and other bills are struggling to be viable businesses.

The tendency of the consumer to go digital and use e-commerce channels has increased due to safety concerns in the wake of Covid-19 and this is beginning to cannibalise business from small retail, he said.

“The kirana stores need liquidity as they were not allowed to sell non-essentials and in many areas which were under complete lockdown, these stores were not allowed to operate,” Sharma added.

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