india

Updated: Apr 24, 2020 19:16 IST

The Congress on Friday criticised as “insensitive and inhumane” the Centre’s decision to freeze the inflation-linked dearness allowance and dearness relief of central government employees and pensioners in an attempt to save money to fund the battle against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The opposition party said the government should have instead suspended the bullet train and the New Delhi central vista beautification projects costing the state exchequer “lakhs of crores of rupees.”

“It is an insensitive and inhumane decision of the government to cut DA of central employees, pensioners and jawans who are serving the public while fighting coronavirus, instead of suspending the bullet train project and the central vista beautification project of lakhs of crores (of rupees),” former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

On Thursday, the Centre held back an expected increase in DA by 4 percentage points to 21% of basic pay until July 2021 and asked the states to emulate it. The Centre alone stands to save $37,300 crore by freezing the DA, HT reported on Friday; together, the Centre and the states together would save Rs.1.2 lakh crore.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters through video conferencing that the government should curtail 30% of its own expenditure and shelve the Rs.20,000 crore central vista redevelopment project as well as the Rs.1.10 lakh crore Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project to save money it can use o fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“The government, 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 people,” he said.

If the government cuts its own expenses by 30%, Surjewala said it could yield around Rs 2.5 lakh crore, which could be used to pay the dearness allowance and dearness relief for employees, pensioners and defence personnel.

Accusing the government of “misconceived” priorities and policies, he said that on the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was telling the states and the private sector not to cut salaries of employees and on the other, he was himself doing so.

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

“Why are you attacking the incomes of the most vulnerable sections and instead not cutting your own waste expenditure?” he asked.

Surjewala said the government was adding “insult to injury” by not offering people relief at a time when economic growth and incomes have taken a hit from Covid-19.