COVID-19: PM should de-centralise the system says Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, May 08: The government needs to be more transparent on the lockdown exit plan, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.

With regard to migrant labour, Rahul Gandhi said that take the idea of NYAY and start putting money directly into the houses of the poor. It would cost Rs 65,000 crore. Each one needs Rs 7,500, he also said.

As daily wagers they have no choice and hence the money has to be given, he also said.
We need to have empathy with the migrants. The states should interact and the Centre has to oversee it.

We need to build a wall for the poor and also create financial support for them. Many companies are going to go down. Hence it is important to protect these daily wage workers, Rahul also said.

If your big businesses are not firing then the MSMEs will go down. There is a link between large businesses and small businesses. Hence support has to be given to both. Hence, it is important to protect all as everything is inter-linked.

Businesses are collapsing and the economy is collapsing. There is a view in the government that if we move too fast and spend too much money, we may create a problem with the rupee. We have to move aggressively now, Rahul Gandhi also said.
We have to start the engine and the more time we take, the more we will suffer, he also said.

In my view, it is not enough to have only a strong Prime Minister. We need strong Chief Ministers, strong district administration, the Congress leader also said.

Speaking about the zones, he said it should be created at the state levels and not at the Central level. The District Magistrates and the Chief Ministers should make these zones as they have the information, he also said.

On the Arogya Setu app, Rahul said it should be made an open source. There should be transparency in the application, he also said.

He further said that to fight this problem, we need to have a de-centralised Centre. Chief Ministers of Congress-led states have been complaining that they are not getting money from the Centre, he also said. We can give them inputs, but we cannot force our suggestions on them.

The Prime Minister has to de-centralise the system. The power cannot lie with the PMO alone. If we have to exit the lockdown, it is necessary to eradicate fear from the minds of the people.

The lesser you sensationalise and the more you speak about the reality, it would be better, Rahul said while advising the media. COVID-19 is fatal for 1 per cent of the people and it is the duty of the PM and the media to tell the people. If this is not done, then people will not come out of their homes, he also said.

He also said that he does not believe that the Centre is giving the states funds. The Congress CMs have told us that they have not been given the funds and I am sure that this is the case with the BJP ruled states as well, he said.

It is not right to stop migrant labourers. However when we send them back, we need to ensure their safety. They should be tested and sent back, but stopping them from returning home is inhuman, Rahul Gandhi also said.