Rahul Gandhi Blames Centre For Not Acting Decisively To Tackle Coronavirus, Says India Will Pay Heavy Price

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday blamed Modi government for not acting decisively to combet the spread of novel coronavirusn in India. Rahul Gandhi took to twitter and said that India is going to pay an extremely heavy price for government's inability to act decisively. " Quick aggressive action is the answer to tackling the Coronavirus . India is going to pay an extremely heavy price for our governments inability to act decisively," he tweeted.

Quick aggressive action is the answer to tackling the #Coronavirus . India is going to pay an extremely heavy price for our governments inability to act decisively.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 18, 2020

The COVID-19 has claimed 4 lives till date in India. According to the health ministry, more than 150 have tested positive in the novel coronavirus. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi tried to corner the government asserting that an "economic tsunami" was coming, the Gandhi scion said India should be preparing itself not just to fight the coronavirus but also for the economic devastation that would affect crores of people.

Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the economic situation in the country, saying the PM should get his head "out of the sand" to deal with the problem facing the country. "Indian economy will be devastated. It is like a tsunami is coming," the former Congress president told reporters outside Parliament. Narrating an incident to highlight the gravity of the economic situation, he said that before the tsunami came, water receded off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and when fishermen went to sea, the tsunami struck.

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"So the water is going to come. I have been warning the government that a massive (economic) tsunami is coming and they are fooling about, they are not clear about what to do. India should be preparing itself not just for COVID-19 virus but for the economic devastation that is coming," he said. "I am saying it again and again, nobody is listening to me. I am sorry to say, our people are going to go through unimaginable pain in the next six months," he said.

An "economic tsunami" is coming and there is going to be an economic shock which will affect crores, he said. Asked about Moody's Investors Service lowering India's GDP growth forecast for 2020 calendar year to 5.3 per cent, on coronavirus implications on the economy, Gandhi alleged that it was Prime Minister Modi's mindset to be rated by some outsiders.

"I am not bothered about what the outsiders are saying, I understand what our strengths are. These (government) people do not believe in our strengths. These people want to be rated by Moody's, by Standard & Poor's, to be rated by Mr (Donald) Trump. I don't give a damn about that rating," he said.

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The Indian Army, which reported its first case of coronavirus in Leh, on Wednesday announced suspension of wargames, conferences and training activities as part of precautionary measures and said it will be checking the soldiers for flu symptoms on their return from leave.

The Army has also stopped the recruitment drives across the country, including the Service Selection Board (SSB) exams. Army officials said they issued an advisory that all wargames and conferences will be postponed. Training activities have also been postponed or cancelled till further orders.

At some locations, they said, the Army has also placed soldiers under quarantine after their return from leave. At other locations, it is checking for symptoms of flu among soldiers and has asked its personnel to avoid non-essential travel. The officials said they have advised authorities to grant leave only on essential or compassionate grounds till the situation improves.  In order to avoid travel, those who are already on leave have been told to extend their holiday.

The Air Force too has announced postponement of the Air Force exams which was scheduled later this week. The Indian Army reported its first case of coronavirus after a 34-year-old soldier from the Ladakh Scout regiment tested positive for the infection in Leh, army sources said on Wednesday as the total number of cases in India climbed to 147.

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