Friday’s unveiling of the third tranche of the Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic package prompted Congress questioning of the government’s “intention” rather than understanding, the party alleging an attempt to mislead the distressed masses through “lies” and “voodoo economics”.

Senior Congress leaders with decades of experience in governance expressed shock at the “repackaging” of existing schemes and budget proposals as fresh relief.

They said they could have understood a deficient assistance package but an entirely “bogus exercise” of this scale was beyond comprehension.

Most of them said this had more to do with the government’s intention rather than its lack of competence.

Party communication chief Randeep Surjewala said: “The lies and insensitivity of the government are condemnable. Repackaging existing schemes and budgetary proposals and presenting them as relief package is playing with the national interest.”

“Migrant workers, farmers and even the MSME sector got nothing as assistance. It is all about credit, credit and more credit. Instead of a healing touch, they are inflicting new wounds on the distressed people. The government couldn’t move from headline to helpline. This is like misleading the masses through voodoo economics.

“Today’s announcements showed that the government neither understands farming nor has any intention to help. In the last two months alone the farmers have suffered losses of Rs 50,000 crore, but they haven’t received a penny from the government in this package.”

Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “80% of the bogus Rs 20 lakh crore package announced. What more recycling and gimmickry remains. How many more jumlas will India endure as pain, agony and distress intensifies.”

Ramesh added: “Madam Finance Minister, one simple question. What is the additional cash you are putting into the system over the next six months? The announcements you made today are mostly contained in your budget presented on February 1.” Another case of repackaging and remarketing.

“Will the Finance Minister please shed light on basics of ‘atmanirbhar arthashastra’ (self-reliant economics)? On February 1, 2020, she projected Centre’s expenditure at Rs 30.42 lakh crore for year 2020/21. Now with ‘atmanirbhar Bharat’ package what is the revised expenditure figure for 2020/21? Everything else is dramabaazi.”

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram said: “In our estimate, the fiscal stimulus part of the second tranche of announcements was Rs 5,000 crore. Most analysts agree. In today’s tranche it is close to zero.

“Even the finance minister declined to answer how many of the amounts mentioned today were already part of the expenditure budget and how many are additional sums of money.”

Senior leader Ahmed Patel tweeted: “This wasn’t an economic package. It’s an empty package wrapped by speeches since last three days. The migrants & the poor were having great expectations after the Prime Minister’s speech. Sadly, the government has turned a blind eye to their problems and is back to headline management.

Surjewala argued that the government’s attitude was pushing the farmers into a debt trap. “They are talking of new legislation but (they) don’t tell the nation that the farmers are not even getting an adequate price for their yield,” he said.

“The government barely purchases 25 per cent of the crop on MSP (minimum support price), and the absence of a market due to the lockdown has forced the farmers to sell wheat for Rs 1,400-1,600 per quintal while the MSP is Rs 1,925.” He added: “(As for the) rabi crop of wheat, sarso, chana and masoor, the farmers have lost Rs 50,000 crore in the last two months.”