Disagree With PM on Many Issues But Now’s the Time to Unite: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday warned of a massive economic backlash from the pandemic.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter screenshot)

Amid the 40-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 16 April, said in a video-conference that the lockdown in no way defeats the virus, but only stops it for sometime, as he stressed on the need to ramp up testing.

"India's testing rate is very low at 199 per million so far. There is a need to ramp up testing... Push coronavirus testing aggressively, use testing strategically, assist states to fight it," he said, adding that the fight against COVID-19 should not be a top-down approach, but a bottom-up one.

“I disagree with Narendra Modi on a lot of issues but now is not the time to fight. Unite and fight the virus,” he declared.

“There should be strategic opening of lockdown... The fight against COVID-19 has only started, declaring victory now will be wrong.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as quoted by PTI

The Congress leader said experts across the world and in India say that a lockdown is like a "pause button" and it “is in no way a solution to the virus”.

"When we come out of the lockdown, the virus is going to start its work. It is important that we have a strategy in place to come out of the lockdown," he said, adding that it is time to ramp up testing and put adequate infrastructure in place when the virus picks up again.

"No one will be harmed by testing. It should be done on a large scale. But India will have to unite to fight the virus. Caste, religion and creed will have to be forgotten in fighting this virus," he said.

Calling for a “strategic opening” of the lockdown, Gandhi suggested opening certain key areas and to use testing to identify hotspots.

"This is where ramping up testing is important, to dynamically identify the hotspots," he said. Gandhi suggested creation of two basic zones -- a hotspot zone and a non-hotspot zone.

"It is important to focus on the strategy after lockdown. What will be the strategy for testing? How will you prepare the PHCs and hospitals? Because, the cases will increase after the lockdown. Action should not be delayed," he noted.

The Congress leader said the pandemic will have a negative effect on the country's economy, while adding that people are becoming unemployed and "it is going to get worse".

On the issue of migrants, he called the Centre to work on a strategy, suggesting creation of a food net and implementing NYAY scheme to provide financial help to the poor, reported PTI.

"Create defensive package for MSMEs and protect big strategic companies," he told the government, as he warned of a massive economic backlash from the pandemic.

(With inputs from PTI.)