The Congress said after the Prime Minister’s address on Thursday night that it would support every step the government takes to control the coronavirus outbreak, offering several suggestions while taking care not to criticise Narendra Modi.
“In this time of national crisis, the Congress will not play politics and (will) react in a mature manner. We will support every step taken by the government,” party spokesperson Ajay Maken told a media conference on Thursday night.
“Our workers will spread the message on how to fight the menace as suggested by the Prime Minister.”
Former Union minister P. Chidambaram, who had said during the day that anything short of a complete lockdown would be letting down the country, tweeted: “I am duty bound to support the Prime Minister. In effect, the Prime Minister has asked the people to wage the war against Covid with moral armaments. We shall do so on Sunday and in the following days.”
He subtly implied that the government response on Thursday was inadequate and that Modi would have to return with a better plan.
“I have the feeling that the Prime Minister will come back in the next few days to announce tougher social and economic measures,” the Congress leader tweeted.
While the Congress has been careful to avoid any antagonistic public posture at a time when the nation faces a huge challenge, it has stressed certain key issues without being critical of the Prime Minister’s strategy.
“We have some suggestions for the Prime Minister. The government should drastically enhance testing facilities and increase the number of ICU beds,” Maken said.
“There should be no dearth of personal protective equipments for the health workers and doctors.”
Without openly alleging the Prime Minister’s speech lacked in concrete measures, Maken said: “Care should be taken that actual data is not suppressed. Respiratory devices should be stored in bulk. New containment zones should be created. Indians stranded in foreign countries should be brought back to safety.”
He added: “Complete planning should be made in advance for the eventuality of a lockdown. There may be a stage where a lockdown will be necessary in certain areas. The government should draw up plans for the delivery of essential services and commodities. Electricity and water supply have to be maintained despite a lockdown. The poor will need food; those living in slums and narrow clusters will require social distancing.”
In the morning, the Congress had demanded special measures to help sustain the livelihood of the poor while imposing a total lockdown in major cities and towns.
“The poor are the most vulnerable. They earn daily to survive. The government should immediately transfer some amount into their Jan Dhan accounts so that they don’t suffer during the lockdown,” party spokesperson Rajeev Gowda had said.
The coronavirus has triggered panic in the country, disrupting normal work in several sectors and freezing livelihood avenues for day labourers.
Recalling that Rahul Gandhi had been asking for a proper response to the virus threat since February 12, the Congress raised the question of the economic slowdown affecting the preparations.
It posted several questions for the Prime Minister ahead of his address to the nation, asking how the government planned to compensate those who will suffer huge losses during the crisis.
It asked how the government planned to distribute essential commodities and whether the Prime Minister had created a dedicated fund for the crisis.
Pointing to the poor critical-care facilities in the country, the party asked what measures had been taken to enhance the health infrastructure. The number of critical-care beds per 100,000 of the population is 2.3 in India compared with 34.7 in the United States.
Privately, many Congress leaders felt that the government was dilly-dallying about taking harsh measures.
Chidambaram had tweeted earlier in the day: “What will the Prime Minister announce at 8pm today? I will be disappointed if the Prime Minister did not announce a total lockdown, at least of all towns and cities, for a period of 2-4 weeks. Anything less will be letting down this country.”
He argued: “After WHO director-general’s statement yesterday, there should be no hesitation in ordering an immediate lockdown of all our towns and cities for 2-4 weeks. Even after we have witnessed what is happening in Italy, Iran and Spain, why is the government refusing to take the logical step of a lockdown? Some states that are ahead of the central government should go ahead and lock down their towns and cities. Since ICMR’s random sample testing has revealed that there is no community transmission (Stage 3) so far, this is the moment to announce a temporary lockdown and contain the disease at Stage 2.”
Party spokesperson Anand Sharma too objected to the continuance of the Parliament session.
“The entire world is taking measures for social distancing and people are being quarantined,” he said.
“The government does not have any important business in the session. The Finance Bill can be passed immediately. But the government is showing obstinacy. Thousands of people are assembling in Parliament at this juncture but the government is not concerned.”