COVID 19 needs aggressive response says Rahul, he has a prophecy too

Rahul’s warning cum prophecy over coronavirus comes at a time when Indian markets along with their global counterparts are witnessing record losses due to the impact of COVID 19.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged for “aggression” in tackling coronavirus and accused the government of indecision in tackling the global pandemic that is rapidly spreading its tentacles in India while wreaking havoc in several other countries, mostly in Europe and some in Central Asia, with an exponential rise in the count of its victims.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has advised adopting an aggressive approach to deal with Coronavirus) (PTI Photo)

“Quick aggressive action is the answer to tackling the #Coronavirus,” Rahul tweeted.

The Congress leader added that the country was likely to pay a “heavy price” for the government’s alleged “inability to act decisively”.

“India is going to pay an extremely heavy price for our governments (sic) inability to act decisively,” his tweet added.

Rahul’s warning cum prophecy comes at a time when Indian markets along with their global counterparts are witnessing record losses due to the impact of coronavirus. The tourism sector is among the worst hit and the cascading impact of the slowdown in economic activities due to restrictions, both domestic and global in the wake of the disease, is likely to manifest itself in the coming days. A couple of rating agencies have already slashed India’s growth forecast for 2020-2021 to just above 5%

Rahul has been consistently warning that the government’s preparedness to deal with the deadly contagion is not enough and has prophesised that the economy will be the worst-affected. He compared the outbreak to a “Tsunami” only yesterday while speaking to reporters.

“The Indian economy is going to be devastated. You have no idea the painful thing the country has suffered and it is coming. It is like a tsunami is coming,” Rahul said.

India has seen three deaths due to Covid 19 so far with a total of 147 confirmed infections including 25 foreign nationals and 14 cured individuals.

Rahul Gandhi had first posted his concerns over India’s response to the contagion that started in neighbouring China infecting over 82,000 residents on February 12 and alleged that the government was “not taking it seriously” when timely action was “critical”.

“The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously,” his tweet said when the infection was still in its infancy in India.

On March 5, he had likened the government’s assurances of having things under control with assurances offered by “the Capt of the Titanic”—the famous British cruise liner that sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean on its first voyage on April 15, 1912, with over 2200 passengers and crew on board.

“Health Minister saying that the Indian Govt has the #coronavirus crisis under control, is like the Capt of the Titanic telling passengers not to panic as his ship was unsinkable. It’s time the Govt made public an action plan backed by solid resources to tackle this crisis.

He tweeted again on March 13 to suggest the potential impact of the disease was being ignored by the administration.

“The #coronavirus is a huge problem. Ignoring the problem is a non-solution. The Indian economy will be destroyed if strong action is not taken. The government is in a stupor,” he had said.

The Central government along with those of the States, has taken several measures including suspension of visas, mandatory screening of passengers arriving from coronavirus hit countries, banning travel to and from to coronavirus hot spots, quarantining of suspects, shutting down schools, colleges and suspending events of mass gathering, tracking of suspects, and steps aimed to prevent community transmission of the disease, restrictions on entry and exit at land borders and on tourists to contain the spread of the disease.