Lockdown is pause to bigger COVID-19 outbreak, ramping up testing important: Rahul Gandhi

"The lockdown is a pause to the bigger Coronavirus outbreak.." said Gandhi and added, "The ramping up testing is important."

Also Gandhi, who represents Kerala's Wayanad constituency, felt the states must be empowered by the Centre. "The states must take a lead in testing," he said.

"Testing kit supply is limited now. We have to find a way. We cant fight Covid19 without testing. I urge that testing should be more now on, strategically, testing is our main strategic weapon, random testing needed:," he said.

Suggesting a "strategic lockdown", Gandhi during an online press conference said, "Virus will be at home during the lockdown. The moment lockdown will be lifted, a bigger outbreak will be seen."

"At the present moment, we are chasing the virus which is running ahead of us. We need to conduct random testing to defeat the virus," added the former Congress chief.

Though the Centre had called the anti-Coronavirus lockdown for 21 days, Modi on Tuesday extended the shutdown till May 3.

However, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had supported the lockdown extension by Modi. 

Chidambaram, a former Union Finance Minister and a critic of the Modi government, tweeted after the Prime Minister's address to say, "We reciprocate the PM’s New Year greetings. We understand the compulsion for extending the lockdown. We support the decision."

But he also added in the next few tweets, "CMs’ demand for money elicited no response. Not a rupee has been added to the miserly package of March 25, 2020. From Raghuram Rajan to Jean Dreze, from Prabhat Patnaik to Abhijit Banerji, their advice has fallen on deaf years."

"The poor have been left to fend for themselves for 21+19 days, including practically soliciting food. There is money, there is food, but the government will not release either money or food. Cry, my beloved country."

Besides urging the Centre to empower the states and suggesting massive testing, Gandhi on Thursday appealed to the Modi government to announce a "NYAY" (which was included in Congress' 2019 General Election manifesto), type of financial package to support the poor and businessmen.

Gandhi said, "The economic downfall has come. It will be there. So the Centre must prepare a package for small and medium scale industries, MSMEs."

"The hospitals will have to be ramped up. We will have to counter the disease. There should not be a delayed action but an immediate one," the Wayanad Lok Sabha MP added in suggesting plans for the post-lockdown period.

Drawing criticism from the opposition political parties, Modi during his address on Tuesday stayed away from formulating any fresh strategy to reduce the plight of migrant workers and daily wagers but acknowledged the sufferings of the poor.

The Centre had earlier announced a mega stimulus package of Rs. 1,70,000 crore to uplift the poor but videos of desperate migrant workers trying to reach home by walking hundreds of kilometers across the state borders mirrored the humanitarian crisis caused by the lockdown.

Though several people, including migrant workers who set on foot for home, had reportedly died owing to the lockdown, Modi on Tuesday once again reassured that the country has "sufficient stock of food items".  

Though Modi had claimed India was doing far better than other nations in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, Gandhi feels it would be premature to "declare victory". 

"It will be a huge mistake to declare a victory," the Congress leader said but soon he in a bid to stay away from political controversies added, "I will speak about the lacks of the Modi government in tackling the crisis only after India becomes Coronavirus-free. This is not the time to do politics. We all should fight together at this hour."

The toll in Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 in India soared further to settle at 414 on Thursday morning amid the identification of 170 hotspots across the country by the central government.

As per the government figure, 12,380 people including 1,489 cured and 414 deceased have been infected with the contagion in different parts of India.

Among the states, Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 patients (2,916) followed by the national capital Delhi (1,578).