Priyanka Gandhi raps Modi govt on DA freeze, asks why not scrap Bullet train, Central Vista projects instead

Criticising the decision to cut dearness allowance (DA) hike of government employees and pensioners, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday, and asked central government to scrap the bullet train and the central vista projects to save 30 per cent expenditure.

"By what logic is the DA of government employees being cut? While the pressure of work on them has increased manifold. What's the rationale for DA cut for health workers and policemen? Third and fourth class employees suffer a lot from this. People dependent on pension are being hurt?" Priyanka Gandhi, also the party in-charge for the eastern UP, said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

"Why the government doesn't stop outrageous expenses? Why 30 per cent reduction in government expenditure is not announced? Why the government is not curbing unnecessary expenses on Rs 1.2 lakh bullet train project and Rs 20,000 crore Parliament building project?" she said.

Her remarks have come came two days after the central government decided to freeze payment of additional instalment of DA to employees and dearness relief (DR) to pensioners, due from January 1, 2020.

On March 14, the Union cabinet had raised DA by 4 per cent to 21 per cent in a bonanza for 1.13 crore central government employees and pensioners, applicable from January 2020. It would have cost the exchequer Rs 14,595 crore.

Earlier in the day, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and several other top Congress leaders in a video message slammed the government's decision.