On Thursday, in his conversation with industrialist Rajiv Bajaj, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Central government for its handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic and said that "there was no lockdown even during the world war".
"It is quite surreal. I do not think anyone imagined that the world would be locked down in this way. I do not think even during the world war, the world was locked down. Even then, things were open. It is a unique and devastating sort of phenomenon," Gandhi said.
"The economy slowed down before COVID-19. Unemployment was becoming a serious problem before this virus. Now COVID-19 pushed it over the edge," he said.
Meanwhile, Twitter users trolled Rahul Gandhi for 'comparing' COVID-19 pandemic to the world war. "True. World War was contagious," sarcastically said ABVP's National Social Media Convener Varada Marathe.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
Meanwhile, responding to the Congress leader, Bajaj criticised the Central government for imposing the 'draconian' lockdown and claimed that it was only in India that people were not allowed to move outdoors.
"The way India has been locked down is a draconian lockdown. I am not hearing about this kind of lockdown from anywhere else. All my friends and family from across the world have always been free to step out," Bajaj said.
Rahul Gandhi has also held conversations with former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan and Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee.
(With IANS inputs)
