Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has asked the Narendra Modi-government to allow the road and air transport to operate, adding that it is the only way of economic revival. Chidambaram also appreciated the government’s decision to run passenger trains to 15 major cities from New Delhi, in a tweet. Like the cautious opening of railways, the government should also open road and air transport in a strategic manner, he added. Prior to this, P Chidambaram also hailed the centre’s decision to borrow Rs 4.2 lakh crore more this fiscal, overlooking the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent.
In a piece written in the Indian Express yesterday, P Chidambaram highlighted that the government made some unintended, but crucial, mistakes. The sudden imposition of lockdown 1.0 with barely four hours’ notice, the failure to put money in the bank accounts of the poor, under the Financial Action Plan of March 25, and not arranging transport for the migrant workers to go back to their home states when the spread of the virus was extremely low are among the big mistakes he pointed out.
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The minister has also added that after May 17, Prime Minister Modi will be left with two options of either extending the lockdown or restarting the economic activities. Even as both options have their own pros and cons, the Prime Minister will have to take a very crucial decision as on one side the economy will completely collapse, on the other side, coronavirus cases may rise steeply and may also reach the green zones. Meanwhile, PM Modi is meeting with the Chief Ministers of various states, discussing whether to extend lockdown and reviewing the current situation.