Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the world didn’t go through a lockdown even during the World War, as it has faced today due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s quote surreal. I don’t think anyone imagined that the world would be locked down in this way. I don’t think that even during the World War, the world was locked down. I think even then things were open. it’s a unique and devastating phenomenon,” said Gandhi.
The former Congress president was having a discussion with industrialist and Managing Director of Bajaj Auto Rajiv Bajaj on the economic fallout of Covid-19.
“The lockdown was really hard on the poor and migrants. They had nowhere to go,” said Gandhi
When asked what he would have done, Gandhi told Bajaj, “The central government has to act as an enabler. It should have moved the battle to chief ministers, but what happened in India is that the central government has backed off now. It’s too late now.”
“It’s a failed lockdown in India, it’s the only country where number of infections is increasing wheh lockdown is being eased,” Gandhi added.
During the conversation, Gandhi called for a compassionate response and the urgent need for the government to listen to stakeholders and experts.
The first such dialogue was held on April 30 when Gandhi discussed the coronavirus pandemic and its economic implications with former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan.
Gandhi then held a conversation with Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee who had said India should come out with a large enough stimulus package to revive demand.
The former Congress chief last week spoke to globally renowned public health experts – Professor Ashish Jha of Harvard Global Health Institute and Swedish epidemiologist Johan Giesecke.
