NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family of those who died due to Covid as it said the government has profited from petroleum products.
He said the excessive excise duty on petrol and diesel that the government collects is the public money. If the government can't spend 10 per cent (Rs 40, 000 crore) of it on the families of the deceased, what is the use of this money?
Addressing a press conference Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said, "The Congress party demands that the government include Covid-19 as disaster like other natural disasters and provide compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased."
"It is our debt of gratitude to the families of the deceased. It is an insult to the frontline workers who have laid down their lives in fighting at the forefront. A government that can't provide Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased has no right to rule, " he added.
The Congress said that the Modi government has failed the people, has no moral right to rule, has insulted the deceased and weakened our fight against Covid.
So far, close to 4 lakh people have lost their lives and more than 3 crore people have been infected with this deadly virus. India's middle class shrunk by 3.2 cr & 7.5 cr people were pushed into poverty in 2020.
As per CMIE, close to 97 per cent of Indians became poorer during the last year. It is clear that both life and livelihood have suffered badly. But the big issue is that the BJP government has left the people alone in this fight and doesn't seem to be bothered at all.
"Covid-19 checks all boxes of a disaster. The government however seems to be hell bent in proving that this is not a disaster, " he said.
Vallabh said, in March 2020, the ministry of home affairs decided to treat Covid as a "notified disaster". However, when the demand for compensation was made in public domain, the Modi government took a u-turn in the honourable Supreme Court by saying that it cannot be called a disaster and is at best a pandemic.