Poor suffering due to lockdown, hope govt comes out with plan to deal with situation: Sonia Gandhi

Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed hope that the government will formulate a strategy to address the problems being faced by the poor labourers due to the nationwide lockdown in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"We have written letters to Prime Minister and gave him suggestions. We hope that the government comes out with a plan to meet this challenge. The poor, farmers and labourers are suffering the most," Gandhi said at a video conference meeting with Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents.

Gandhi took stock of the party's relief work for people reeling under the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emphasizing that the poor people are suffering the most due to lockdown, Gandhi said, "Due to the lockdown, the poor labourers left for their respective villages, and our workers have worked together to solve their problems."

"Lockdown is going to put a lot of burden on our economy. The economy was already in crisis - it seems that difficulties will increase further. We have to be ready for these situations. In public misery, the people will have to stand by and will have to do their utmost to remove their troubles," she said.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown will end on April 21. Punjab and Odisha governments have extended lockdown in their respective states.

Addressing the party leaders, Gandhi said the country is fighting the battle against the coronavirus and the party is ready to play its role in it. She also asked them to give suggestions on how the Congress party can contribute more in the fight against coronavirus.

The Congress President suggested five measures to curb government expenditure and to divert these funds to fight the deadly virus.

In her letter, she suggested that the Central Vista project be scrapped, government advertisements in media tbe stopped as well as foreign visits of ministers and other dignitaries, and asked to divert the money in the PM-CARES fund to tackle the impact of COVID-19.