Launching one of the fiercest attacks on the Centre over its handling of COVID-19 pandemic, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi squarely blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second surge and the present situation in the country.
In a virtual briefing on Friday, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi “was responsible for the second wave” and that he “did not understand Covid at all”.
“The first wave no one understood…but the second wave is the PM’s responsibility. His stunts, his lies about deaths…” Rahul said.
LIVE: My interaction with members of the Press about GOI’s Covid vaccine disaster. https://t.co/YbC8iSe4aw
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 28, 2021
Sharpening his attack, he said, “The PM is an event manager. We don’t need events. We need strategies.” He also accused the Prime Minister of “ignorance” on the coronavirus.
Lashing out at the PM for the poor pace of vaccination in the country he said, “You have left the door open and have still not shut the door. You have vaccinated only three per cent of the population, leaving the rest open. US has vaccinated half its population. Brazil has vaccinated 8 to 9 per cent. They are not the vaccine capital, we are. We make vaccines.”
“I directly told the PM that if India does not sort out its vaccination strategy, there will be multiple waves since the virus adapts.”
Rahul also stressed on the fact that without a proper vaccination strategy, India would witness multiple waves of infection and that lockdowns, social distancing and masks were only temporary measures to break the chain of the spread of the virus.
He also hit out at the government for “spreading lies” over management of the pandemic. “This is not the time to spread lies. The government should be truthful. It is a question of the country’s future, saving lives. We are not the government’s enemy – the opposition is showing the way. We would not have gone through this crisis if they had heard us in February.”