'Neither Managed Covid Well Nor Kept Economy Afloat': MP Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday hit out at the Central government over the COVID-19 handling and management of the economy.

"We have the worst of both worlds. We have neither managed to limit the spread of the virus nor have we managed to keep the economy afloat. GDP for the first time in 41 years will actually shrink, our employment crisis has become even worse than before, small and medium businesses have been devastated, trade has crashed and foreseeable national prospects are dying," he said during a discussion in the Lower House discussion on the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram said that States were not consulted before the 21-day lockdown.

"Even though people of this country were given three days' notice before locking down for a mere 17-hour Janata Curfew on a Sunday when most individuals spend a lot of time at home anyway. A trial for a longer national lockdown what followed was horrific," Tharoor said.

"The Prime Minister in his address to residents of his constituency likened the disaster he had unleashed upon the nation to Kurukshetra. He said that Mahabharat took 18 days before victory was earned and tackling the COVID-19 will take 21 days. 180 days have passed, our national caseload is the second largest in the world and heading for number 1. Daily cases have nearly reached a lakh. The economy is in tatters having suffered a contraction far more severe than any other country," he added.

Tharoor shared data from the World Health Organisation to state that India has the highest number of daily infections and deaths in the world.

The MP also spoke about the danger faced by students while giving exams and thanked the healthcare workers for their services.

Reciting a poem in Hindi, he said: "We don't say there was no pandemic, we were saying that there was no preparation." 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Scrabbl staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)