Lockdown has failed, what next; Rahul asks PM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 26

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the four versions of Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the government had failed and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi now unravel his future strategy.

Also read: Centre doing much more for poor than what Rahul Gandhi is demanding: BJP

“The PM had said India would win the war against Covid in 21 days. As many as 60 days have passed. The goals of lockdown as stated by the PM have not been achieved. Disease is progressing and cases are rising even as we enter the last phase of Lockdown 4. We want to humbly ask the government what its plan is on disease management, revival of the economy, help to the poor and migrants and financial support to small and medium enterprises,” Gandhi said in a virtual press conference, his third since Covid outbreak.

The Congress leader, commenting on the party-ruled Maharashtra having the maximum cases of Covid in India, said, “In Maharashtra we are not in a decision-making role. We are part of a coalition government. We are supporting the government. There is a difference between supporting and running a government. We have a strategy in all Congress-ruled states on how to give cash to the poor and what to do but no state strategy can succeed without the help from the Centre. The Centre must help the states.”

Rahul said India was the only country that was relaxing the lockdown when the disease graph was rising. “The situation is going to get very dangerous. The cases are progressing. Unless the government gives a cash injection to the poor and immediately helps the small industries, there will be an economic disaster,” he said.