Punjab Chief Minister asks Centre to give Rs 10,000 to poor people

NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded that the Centre give Rs 10,000 to the poor and provide financial assistance to small and medium enterprises to resume operation.nn

My appeal to PM @NarendraModi Ji, seeking Govt of India’s immediate intervention for cash transfer to all migrant workers & poor, providing greater employment to rural poor under MGNREGS & financial assistance for MSMEs, other than loans. https://t.co/cm6e9bFaEu

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 28, 2020

nnIn a video message as part of the Congress party’s ‘Speak Up India’ campaign, the CM said, “We want the government to give Rs10,000 to poor people.”nnThe government should give this amount to poor people who have been contributing in producing foodgrain and also working in factories, he said.nnThe CM also sought financial assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises for reviving them.nnThe Congress on Thursday launched a ‘Speak Up’ India’ campaign to help raise the voice of the poor, migrants, small businesses and the middle class people before the central government.nnPunjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi also sought immediate payment of Rs10,000 to poor families.nnBesides, the minister also demanded monetary assistance of Rs7,500 per month for the next six months to those families who are out of the Income Tax ambit, he said.nnIn his message, Sodhi accused the Centre of having miserably failed in providing any relief to people during lockdown.nnHe said the state government was bearing the cost of travel of migrant workers who are returning to their native places while asserting that the state government was committed to extend all possible help to people in these challenging times.nnIf the Union government did not pay heed to this sensitive issue, the Congress party would launch a nationwide agitation and force it to help the people in need, said Sodhi in a statement here.nnPunjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar while highlighting the pain of migrant workers, demanded that the Union government provide free train travel or bus service to send them home.nnIn his message, Jakhar accused the Modi government of forgetting the poor people.nnHe demanded the central government immediately transfer Rs10,000 in the bank accounts of every poor family as the lockdown had devastated the economy of every section and the worst hit was the poor.nnHe also demanded relief for small traders and shopkeepers, saying the middle class families also need money to survive by keeping the business going and not the package.nnSource: Press Trust of India