New Delhi, April 12: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra for extending the provision of food security for people affected by the coronavirus lockdown till September. In the letter Sonia Gandhi suggested a number of measures to fight the food crisis which has been prevailed in the country due to the shutdown. Many migrant labourers are facing issues due to the lockdown as they lost their only source of income. Sonia Gandhi Writes to PM Narendra Modi, Supports Salary Cut of MPs, Demands Suspension of All Govt Ads to Fight Coronavirus Menace.

Gandhi said that she welcomed the Centre's decision to provide five grains/person in addition to entitlements under the Nationa Food Security Act  (NFSA) from April to June, 2020. The Congress President asked the Centre to extend the provision of 10 Kg grains/person under NFSA for three more months i.e till September. She reiterated that these food entitlements should be provided free of cost. Gandhi stressed on the need of providing 10 kg food grains/person even to those who do not have ration cards. Coronavirus Cases Jump to 9352 in India With Highest Single-Day Surge in Deaths, 51 COVID-19 Patients Die in Past 24 Hours.

Sonia Gandhi's Letter to PM Modi:

The Congress President said, “I would like to bring to your notice that all migrant labourers may not be holding NFSA cards. In addition deserving people have been excluded from the NFSA list.” She added that the population increase since 2011 have also also not been considered for determining each states entitlement under NFSA. She suggested that the Centre should also release food grains to the states it will help in easy distribution among masses and increasing prices can also controlled.

Gandhi’s wrote the letter to PM Modi day before his address to the nation. Speculations are rife that the Prime Minister could extend the lockdown to April 30 as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise in the past few days. Several states have already announced extension of the shutdown till April 30. In India, the number of cases rose to 9,352 on Monday. The death toll also jumped to 320 in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 06:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).