- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Shubham Ghosh
FORMER Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday, June 21, lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for not paying ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh (around $5,400) to the kin of those who died of Covid.
Attacking the government in a tweet in Hindi on Monday (21), the 51-year-old leader said: “It is impossible to valuate life, government’s compensation is only a small help, but the Modi government is not ready to even do that.”
His tweet also said: “First the lack of treatment during the Covid pandemic and then the false figures and on top of that the government’s cruelty.”
The Congress leader’s attack came after the central government told the Supreme Court of India that the ex-gratia compensation could not be paid to the families since the finances of the central and state governments of the country are under severe strain.
“The prayer of the petitioner for payment of ex-gratia to all deceased persons due to COVID-19 is beyond the fiscal affordability of the state governments. Already the finances of state governments and the central government are under severe strain due to the reduction in tax revenues and increase in health expenses on account of the pandemic.
Thus, utilisation of scarce resources for giving ex-gratia may have unfortunate consequences of affecting the pandemic response and health expenditure in other aspects and hence cause more damage than good. It is an unfortunate but important fact that the resources of the governments have limits and any additional burden through ex-gratia will reduce the funds available for other health and welfare schemes,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in an affidavit filed before the apex court.
Supreme Court reserves verdict
The top court on Monday reserved verdict on the pleas seeking directions that the ex-gratia compensation be paid to the kin of those who died of the deadly virus. A special vacation bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah heard Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocates S B Upadhyay and other lawyers for almost two hours. The top court asked the parties to file written submissions in three days and specifically asked the Centre to simplify the process of granting death certificates to the dependents of those who succumbed to Covid.
