COVID-19: Congress accuses Modi of promoting 'superstition' through his appeal to light candles

Following Modi's announcement, which was speculated by plenty of people to be something big, Congress leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal tweeted, "Modiji Learnt nothing about government’s steps to 1) contain the virus 2) protect our medical practitioners 3) provide testing kits 4) reach food and supplies to the poor 5) finance migrant labour , the jobless Light the ‘ Diya ‘ of reason Not that of superstition !"

Not finding much substance in the Prime Minister's 9 am video message on Friday, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, tweeted, "Listened to the Pradhan Showman. Nothing about how to ease people’s pain, their burdens, their financial anxieties. No vision of the future or sharing the issues he is weighing in deciding about the post-lockdown. Just a feel-good moment curated by India’s Photo-Op PrimeMinister!"

On the 10th day of a three-week massive unprecedented lockdown on Friday, Modi in his morning address asked people at 9 pm on Sunday (Apr 5) to switch off lights at their houses, stand at the doorsteps or balconies and light candles or switch on mobile flashlights for nine minutes to stand united as a nation.

Earlier the Prime Minister had asked people to ring bells or clap during Mar 22 'Janata Curfew' standing at doorsteps or balconies of houses to show support to the health workers but there were incidents where people had rallied on the streets completely defeating the purpose of the curfew which was called to maintain social distancing.

To stem the spread of Novel Coronavirus, Modi on Mar 24 had asked 1.3 billion people of the country to stay indoors for 21 days announcing a nationwide lockdown which will end on Apr 14 midnight.

As of now, the government has no plan to extend the lockdown but Modi on Thursday told the Chief Ministers that a strategy has to be chalked out to lift restrictions in phasewise ensuring a staggered movement of people post Apr 14 midnight.

Though the Prime Minister's announcement has led the social media users to share trending memes, Sambit Patra, the spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has hit out at the Congress tweeting, "Prime Minister Shri Modi ji addressed the country today to awaken the collective power of Janata Janardan in India. It is obvious that Congress will never be able to light its hope. At least the Congress should stand with the country and its people."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is known to be a confidante of Prime Minister Modi, on Thursday lashed out at the Congress for "politicising" the issue of COVID-19.

Shah, who rarely spoke in the middle of the 21-day nationwide lockdown in the country, tweeted, "Under PM @narendramodi’s leadership, India’s efforts to fight Coronavirus are being lauded domestically and globally. 130 crore Indians are united to defeat COVID-19. Yet, Congress is playing petty politics. High time they think of national interest and stop misleading people."

Taking a plunge into politics, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the "unplanned implementation" of the lockdown which has caused chaos and pain in the lives of millions of migrant workers all over India.

"The 21-day national lockdown may have been necessary but the unplanned manner in which it has been implemented has caused chaos and pain in the lives of millions of migrant workers all over India.

It has been heart-breaking to see lakhs of people walking for hundreds of kilometres towards their villages without food or shelter. It is the duty of us all to do our utmost to lessen their suffering. I wish to thank all those who are offering them help, our workers, civil society and people who have shown their kindness and compassion to them," Gandhi said.

(Image Credit: BJP Twitter)