Rahul says 'lockdown only option now', BJP reminds him of anti-lockdown tirade last year
Earlier this morning, Rahul posted on Twitter that the "Government of India does not get it. The only way to stop the Coronavirus spread now is a full lockdown... " The BJP was quick to respond and remind Rahul of his April 16, 2020, remarks slamming the imposition of lockdown.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took to Twitter to slam the central government for not yet imposing a national lockdown to break the chain of the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The Wayanad MP's remarks triggered a war of words between him and the BJP on the micro-blogging site.
Earlier this morning, Rahul posted on Twitter that the "Government of India does not get it. The only way to stop the Coronavirus spread now is a full lockdown -- with the protection of NYAY for the vulnerable sections. The Government of India's inaction is killing many innocent people."
The BJP was quick to respond to Rahul's remarks with the party's IT cell chief Amit Malviya stating: "The only person who doesn’t get it is - Rahul Gandhi. Using the pandemic for cheap political thrills is a new low even by Rahul Gandhi’s otherwise low standards!"
Malviya shared a news article from April 16 last year when Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference, said that imposing a national lockdown will not defeat the virus. Instead, Rahul said, testing was the biggest weapon to counter the pandemic.
Here's a video clipping of what Rahul Gandhi said on April 16, 2020:
Moments later, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter again.
He said, "I just want to make it clear that a lockdown is now the only option because of a complete lack of strategy by the Government of India. They allowed, rather, they actively helped the virus reach this stage where there is no other way to stop it. A crime has been committed against India."
Even last month, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party had slammed the Centre for imposing what it termed as a "Tuglhlaqi lockdown" in the country last year that had resulted in thousands of migrants fleeing their homes.
The politics over lockdown comes on the day India reported over 3.57 lakh new cases and 3,449 Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours.
Just two days ago, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and 12 other Opposition leaders wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to launch a free mass vaccination drive.
NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona