Congress playing petty politics over COVID-19: Amit Shah

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.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently appreciated Prime MInister Modi's efforts to tackle COVID-19 outbreak in the country days after the central government announced a financial package and other measures to support the poor section of the country.

In his attempts to help the countrymen at a time when the country is passing through a crisis, Modi announced 24 billion dollars package, including free ration for the disadvantaged, cash transfers to poor women and free cooking gas for the next three months.

Tedros said, "What India is doing is very important."

"During shutdown there will be economic consequences on the country at large and that why India announced a $24 billion package, incl free food rations for 800 million disadvantaged people, cash transfers to 204 million poor women & free cooking gas for 80 million households for the next 3 months."

"That's the kind of support we think should be given," he said.

Calling for a need for debt relief for developing countries, Tedros said: "Many developing countries will struggle to implement social welfare programs of this nature. For those countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse."

(Image Credit: IBNS File)