Congress parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi on Thursday predicted a “monumental tragedy” because of the coronavirus outbreak and the economic crisis as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allegedly left the country unprepared.

Referring to the mayhem in the market that has wiped out around Rs 18 lakh crore in a span of a few days, Rahul told reporters outside Parliament: “Modi and his policies destroyed India’s economy. It started with notebandi (demonetisation). What you are seeing in the market is just the beginning. It is not going to end here. It is going to be like the tsunami. Millions of people are going suffer. People are going to be decimated.”

Alleging that the government woke up late and pointing out that he had been flagging the coronavirus threat for long, Rahul said: “Modi doesn’t talk about the economy. He is clueless. He is sleeping at the wheel. India is heading for an accident on the highway. There could be devastating consequences. This is going to hurt the poor and the youth the most. The youth should ask what has Modi done for jobs all these years.”

The former Congress president recalled that the global crisis in 2008 had been tackled effectively in India because the fundamentals of the economy were strong and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh understood the economy.

“The (current) finance minister does not understand the economy. During the 2008 shockwave, the economy was protected because of our policies. The informal economy protected us, that buffer has been taken away. I am seeing a monumental tragedy unfolding. The Prime Minister should explain what his strategy is. But he doesn’t talk about the economy.”

Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said Thursday was the worst-ever day for investors since Independence as the stock market had crashed by around 3,000 points, wiping out almost Rs 12 lakh crore.

“Two days ago, markets saw a fall of 2,500 points, in which Rs 7 lakh crore was lost. Who has suffered this loss? What have the Prime Minister and the finance minister done to protect the investors from the shock of the coronavirus? The rupee has gone beyond 75 against the dollar. Modi used to say the rupee falls because of corruption,” he said.

Surjewala added: “The government was sleeping when the coronavirus threat loomed on the world. Even masks and sanitisers are not available in the market. They were dealing with a pandemic in a casual fashion. This despite the health minister being a doctor himself. The Prime Minister failed to calibrate his energies on taking preventive measures.”