India / Give 21 days' wages in advance to MGNREGA workers: Sonia writes to PM

New Delhi: Amid 21-day nationwide lockdown, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking advance payment of 21 days’ wages to MGNREGA workers in the country.

The Congress interim president wrote the letter to PM Modi as a number of daily wagers are without any work due to the lockdown announced by the Central government.

Prior to this, Sonia had written another letter to PM Modi on March 26, supporting the lockdown announced in view of the coronavirus outbreak. In the letter, she had also suggested some steps like protecting doctors and seeking deferment of loan recovery.

“The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeping the world had caused serious public health concerns, anguish and apprehensions in India,” she had written in her letter to PM Modi.

She also said in the letter that the pandemic has imperilled the lives and put at risk the lives and livelihoods of millions, particularly, the most vulnerable sections of the society. “The entire nation stands as one in solidarity in the fight to halt and defeat the Corona pandemic,” she said.

In the letter, she had noted that the 21-day nationwide lockdown as the right measure to fight the coronavirus was a welcome step.

“As President of the Indian National Congress, I would like to state that we will support and collaborate fully with every step taken by the Union Government to ensure the containment of the pandemic,” she said.

In the letter, she had also called for implementing the Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme, the ‘NYAY Yojana’ proposed by her party. Apart from this, she had also suggested distributing 10 kg of rice or wheat per family member to every ration card holder through PDS for free.

As per latest updates from the Health Ministry, the death toll due to the coronavirus pandemic has gone up to 38 in country and number of cases has gone up to 1,637 on Wednesday.