New Delhi, May 16: Former Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, May 16, said that government should consider the mega 20 lakh crore package and should directly transfer to bank accounts of people affected by the novel coronavirus crisis and lockdown. The Gandhi scion said this while addressing reported via a Zoom video call. Nirmala Sitharaman Announced Nothing For Poor, Migrant Workers, Says Congress Leader P Chidambaram on Economic Package.

"Today our poor people need money, I am requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he should reconsider this package. He should consider direct bank transfer, MGNREGA for 200 days and money to farmers directly, as these people are our future," Gandhi said. Nirmala Sitharaman Speech: Full Text And Details of Atmanirbhar Bharat Financial Package Worth Rs 20 Lakh Crore in PDF.

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"The need of the hour is to give money to people directly into their pockets and people do not require loans at this moment. When children are hit, mother doesn't give them a loan, but gives direct relief, the need of the hour is not loan package but money should be put in the pockets of the people," he added.

The senior Congress leader said that the reason behind not giving money is ratings. "It is being said that if we increase our deficit today, the foreign agencies will downgrade our ratings," Wayanad MP said.

Till now, Rahul Gandhi has held online interactive sessions with Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan. They had a detailed discussion of the economic situation and the coronavirus crisis.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2020 01:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).