Sudden lockdown has created immense panic & confusion: Rahul to PM
■ Gandhi says govt should help provide shelter to migrant workers, transfer money directly into their banks
Terming India’s conditions as “unique” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the country required to take different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Gandhi said that the world has been forced to take urgent, immediate measures to contain the rapid spread of the Covid19 and India is currently in the midst of a threeweek lockdown.
“I suspect that the government will eventually extend this even further. It is critical for us to understand that India’s conditions are unique. We will be required to take different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy. The number of poor people in India who are dependent on a daily income is simply too large for us to unilaterally shut down all economic activity,” he said.
Asserting that the consequences of a complete economic shut down will disastrously amplify the death toll arising from the Covid-19 virus, the former Congress president asked the government to consider a nuanced approach that takes the complex realities of Indian people into consideration.
“Our priority must be to protect and isolate the elderly and vulnerable from the virus and to clearly and strongly communicate to the young the dangers of proximity to older people,” he added.
“Large population centres will require big dedicated hospitals with thousands of beds and ventilators. It is critical that we start setting up these structures and manufacturing the equipment that
I suspect that the government will eventually extend this even further. It is critical for us to understand that India’s conditions are unique. We will be required to take different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy — Rahul Gandhi, Cong president
would be required, as fast as is humanly possible. At the same time we need to dramatically increase the number of tests that we are carrying out to get an accurate picture of the spread of the virus and to contain it,” the letter continued.
A Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Gandhi also said the union government should help provide shelter to the migrant workers who are returning to their homes and transfer money directly into their bank accounts to help them survive.
On Thursday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had written to the Prime Minister expressing solidarity with the government in its fight against the pandemic but urged him to consider direct cash transfers to the poor, a six-month suspension of recoveries from farmers, waving off equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for the salaried class for six months and a sector-wise relief package for businesses in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.