Rahul wrote to PM Modi urging him to take India’s conditions into account
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take India’s conditions into account, which thereby mandates taking “different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy.”
The Wayanad MP further stated that this needs to be taken into account now as he suspected that the government could have to extend the lockdown period even further.
“The world has been forced to take urgent, immediate measures to contain the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus and India is currently in the midst of a three-week lockdown. I suspect that the government will eventually extend this even further. It is critical for us to understand that India’s conditions are unique. We will be required to take different steps than other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy,” Gandhi’s letter read.
“The number of poor people in India who are dependent on a daily income is simply too large for us to unilaterally shut down all economic activity. The consequences of a complete economic shut down will disastrously amplify the death toll arising from the Covid-19,” it added.
Gandhi urged the government to “consider a nuanced approach that takes the complex realities of our people into consideration. Our priority must be to protect and isolate the elderly and vulnerable from the virus and to clearly and strongly communicate to the young the dangers of proximity to older people.”
The Congress leader also warned that a vast number of India’s elderly live in villages and the complete lockdown, which has resulted in youth rushing back to the villages will increase the risk of them “infecting their parents and the elderly population living there”, resulting in a catastrophic loss of life.
