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‘Shining torches in the sky won’t solve the problem’: Rahul Gandhi
Covd-19 update: Rahul Gandhi made light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to people to light lamps and shine torches on April 5.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reiterated his charge that not enough tests are being conducted in the country to contain the spread of coronavirus.
He made light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to people to light lamps and shine torches on April 5.
“India is simply not testing enough to fight the Covid-19 virus. Making people clap & shining torches in the sky isn’t going to solve the problem,” Gandhi tweeted.
His party colleague and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also urged the central government to empower states in their fight against coronavirus by providing them with more finances and resources.
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The Centre should also take state governments on board while evolving strategies to fight the deadly disease, she told a news conference held through video-conferencing.
“We have talked about cooperative federalism. Time has come that we should walk the talk. The Centre should take states together with it, empower them by providing them with more finances and resources. It is only when states are capable and when the Centre has decentralised, that we can win this war against coronavirus,” she said.
Shrinate said states are at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus, while implementing and executing various policies on the ground.
The Congress spokesperson said the Centre should provide Rs1 lakh crore to states to fight Covid-19, besides releasing pending GST dues of Rs 42,000 crore to state governments with immediate effect.
“The states at this time are facing the biggest financial crisis in fighting the virus. The central government should provide a Rs1 lakh crore package for states to fight COVID-19,” she told reporters.
Despite assurances, Shrinate said the GST revenue that was to be compensated to states by the central government had not been done.
She also demanded providing loans to states at 0% interest and urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to enable such facilities in consultation with the central government.
States, unlike the central government, do not have enough capital and financial resources at their disposal, she added.
