Congress and CPI(M) slammed the Narendra Modi government for the ill-planned nationwide lockdown and general unpreparedness in tackling the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a series of tweets said the government was responsible for the “alarming” situation.
He posted a picture from Delhi of several hundred workers queuing up at a bus station, saying that “in this hour of crisis, our brothers and sisters should at least be given respect and support. The government should take concrete steps as soon as possible so that this doesn’t turn into another tragedy.”
He also urged Congress workers to help those who are walking many hundred kilometres back to their villages.
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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “There are men, women and children who are walking as far as eastern U.P. and Bihar. We sent planes to bring citizens from Europe, why aren’t we organising transport to take the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us home? It is the government’s moral duty to help our fellow citizens in this time of crisis.”
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Former Home Minister P. Chidambaram also flagged the government’s unpreparedness and said, “Back to villages in crowded buses or on foot has significantly dented the lockdown. It is another distressing example of the governments’ unpreparedness.”
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “Restrictive policies on testing enforced by the Centre tied State governments’ hands. Orders for protective health gear weren’t placed on time. Even now, focus of Centre is on promoting a personality cult & PR than on working closely with State governments and meeting their demands.”
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Taking a dig at Union Information Minister Prakash Javadekar’s tweet where he posted a picture of himself watching the 1980s serial Ramayan on Doordarshan in his drawing room, Mr. Yechury questioned the absence of daily briefings on measures taken to curb COVID-19.
“Are the Union ministers only for watching TV serials in their living rooms?Accountability is at the core of our democracy. Elected leaders of the Central government must face the people and the press to answer their questions and take responsibility for the government’s actions. They can look at the Kerala Chief Minister and Health Minister and how they do it [press conferences] every day,” the CPI(M) leader said.
