Cong doing petty politics instead of helping people during COVID-19 crisis: BJP

The Congress has reduced itself to offering comments and writing letters instead of working on ground to help people during the coronavirus crisis, the BJP said on Saturday.

Hours after Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote yet another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a relief package for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar hit out at the opposition party, alleging its leaders keep making new demands and claim that the nationwide lockdown has caused problems.

"The Congress is doing petty, abhorrent and negative politics. It is writing letters daily. It should go and work on ground. Its leaders don't do that but keep making new demands," he told reporters.

The Congress is practising the usual politics even though this is not the time for it, when the country has been hit by the pandemic, Javadekar said, adding the whole world has acknowledged that India has taken timely and right measures to contain coronavirus, but the opposition party cannot recognise it.

Instead, the Congress has been raising questions on lockdown implementation and claiming that it has caused problems, he said.

The BJP leader said Gandhi's letter has come after MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari had already laid out a blueprint to boost the sector.

"It (Congress) knows the government is going to take a lot of good measures for the sector, which is why Gandhi has written the letter so that her party can claim that the (Narendra) Modi dispensation acted due to its pressure," he said.

Instead of making new demands, the Congress should say what it has been doing to help people, Javadekar added.

The Union minister noted the government has already announced a Rs 1.7-lakh crore package for the poor, Rs 500 for each of 20 crore poor women every month for three months and free ration for 81 crore people for three months, besides a host of other measures.

"The Congress cannot appreciate them. All it can do is negative and petty politics," he said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday urged PM Modi to announce a financial package of Rs 1 lakh crore for the revival of MSMEs, saying if ignored, the financial crisis in the sector can have a devastating and expansive ripple effect on the country's economy.

In a letter to Modi, Gandhi suggested a five-point plan for the revival of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which is reeling under the adverse impact of the lockdown due to coronavirus.