Freezing DA inhumane; govt should instead shelve bullet train, Central Vista projects: Cong

PTI, Apr 24, 2020, 8:05 PM IST

New Delhi: Terming “insensitive and inhumane” the freeze on dearness allowance, the Congress on Friday said instead of “hurting” the middle-class employees and pensioners, the government should cut down its wasteful expenses and shelve the bullet train and Central Vista redevelopment projects to save money for the fight against coronavirus.

“It is an insensitive and inhumane decision of the government to cut DA of central employees, pensioners and jawans who are serving the public by fighting coronavirus. The government should instead suspend the bullet train project and the Central Vista beautification project of lakhs of crores (of rupees),” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala too asked the government to cut 30 per cent of its expenses, that could yield around Rs 2.5 lakh crore, and shelve the Central Vista redevelopment and bullet train projects to save money.

“The Government of India, instead of helping people by giving them financial support in this crisis, is hurting them. Instead of curtailing its own wasteful expenditures, the government is cutting the money of the middle class,” he told an online press conference.

On Thursday, the government froze the inflation-linked allowance for its 1.1 crore employees and pensioners, a move states are likely to replicate, helping save a combined Rs 1.2 lakh crore that could be used to combat the coronavirus crisis.

Surjewala demanded that the government take back the decision.

He accused the government of having “misconceived” priorities and said on the one hand the prime minister is telling states and the private sector to not cut salaries and on the other, he is himself cutting salaries of government employees.

“Is this not an indicator to states and the private sector… If this mayhem continues, how will you put money in the hands of people,” he asked.

Surjewala said the government should shelve the Central Vista project, of which the prime minister held a meeting even on Thursday. “Why are you attacking the income of the most vulnerable sections and putting that money in the bullet train project of Rs 1.1 lakh crore and in the Rs 20,000-crore Central Vista project,” he said.

The government is proceeding to deduct almost Rs 38,000 crore from these 50 lakh middle-class government employees and 62 lakh pensioners, who rely completely on the pay and pensions they receive, he claimed.

Even more tragic and objectionable is that the government has not even spared our armed forces, he said, claiming that the Modi government has deducted Rs 11,000 crore from 15 lakh serving armed forces personnel and nearly 26 lakh military pensioners.

“What is their fault? They are serving the nation in times of all types of crisis,” he asked.

Surjewala said earlier too the government had taken away the money of the middle class by reducing the interest rates on savings.

He hoped the lockdown will be lifted soon, as the Congress Working Committee has called on the government to prepare an exit strategy before May 3.

“We hope the prime minister will do so and will unveil that strategy now, than later,” he said.