BJP state president rejects Bajaj’s criticism of national lockdown

Bajaj, in his social media interaction with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had said that the national lockdown had managed to flatten the GDP curve and not the Covid-19 curve

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) state president Chandrakant Patil on Friday rejected the criticism against the national lockdown measures by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and said the criticism had no merit and everyone in a democracy was free to express an opinion.

Pune, India - April 4, 2019: Chandrakant Patil, Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra during his exclusive interaction with Hindustan Times team in a Hotel in Pune, India, on Thursday, April 4, 2019. (Photo by Pratham Gokhale/Hindustan Times) (Pratham Gokhale/HT File Photo)

Patil was briefing reporters on the achievements of the Modi government’s completion of its first year in the second term.

Patil was asked by reporters whether he sensed disappointment in Indian industry with the Modi government’s measures, as reflected in the recent comments made by Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, on the economic fallout of Covid-19. Bajaj, in his social media interaction with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had said that the national lockdown had managed to flatten the GDP curve and not the Covid-19 curve.

Reacting to this criticism, Patil said, “The Prime Minister took the lockdown decision at the right time which helped us face the situation much better than other countries. India’s population is equal to that of the most-affected 14 countries. If we compare the number of Covid-19 positive cases and deaths in these countries, India has been in a better position. Significantly, the lockdown helped us ramp up our medical facilities.”

Acknowledging the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the economy, he said, the central government took various steps to boost economic activities and the PM had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package amounting to 10 per cent of the total GDP.

“Everyone in a democracy is free to express an opinion,” he said while dismissing the criticism of the government.

The BJP state president also questioned the credibility of the recent IANS C-Voter survey which had placed the popularity of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at the fifth position among chief ministers, far ahead of BJP chief ministers. “We first need to check who conducted the survey. All BJP chief ministers are top rankers and are performing well,” he said.