After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement Tuesday to extend the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavrius pandemic until May 3, former finance minister P Chidambaram expressed his disappointment that the PM did not a say anything about how the poor are supposed to survive amid the lockdown or on the revival of the economy.

He added that the need for lockdown is understandable but there is no clarity on actions being taken beyond shutting down the country.

The nationwide lockdown began on March 25 and was in place until April 14. However, the prime minister in an address to the nation announced an extension until May 3. Some regions that are not considered coronavirus hotspots could see relaxation from April 20.

Chidambaram said that the government’s top priority should be to put money in the hands of the poor. The initial lockdown, which was announced at four-hour’s notice on March 24, saw a massive movement of migrant labour force to their hometowns as they lost their income.

The true value of the package announcement by the government is Rs 1 lakh crore and not Rs 1.75 lakh crore, Chidambaram told CNBC-TV18 in the wake of the prime minister’s speech on Tuesday.

He added that the second top priority for the government should be the revival of the economy. Economic activity across the country has come to a grinding halt as a consequence of the lockdown.

The senior Congress leader prescribed that Rs 65,000 crore should be given to the poor and Rs 5-6 lakh crore should be used to revive the economy.

Lockdown extension: PM again requests businesses to not lay off people

Chidambaram explained that there are “26 crore families in India, I think 13 crore families in India will need support; 13 crore families multiplied by Rs 5000, that works out to 65,000 crore.”

He added: “Our expenditure budget is Rs 30 lakh crore, can 65,000 crore not be found to support the people who most need it?”

For revival of the economy, Chidambaram advised the government to borrow and lend to the states.

“If states borrow, cost will be very high, the centre must borrow and lend to the states.” He added: “Let deficit rise to 4-4.2 percent and then look to monetise part of the deficit.”

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First Published:Apr 14, 2020 11:54 AM IST