Govt's 'well-planned fight' against COVID has put India in 'abyss' of GDP contraction: Rahul

Taking a dig, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the government's "well-planned fight" against the coronavirus pandemic has put India in an "abyss" of GDP contraction of 24 per cent, 12 crore job losses, 15.5 lakh crore additional stressed loans and the globally highest daily COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Taking a dig, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the government's "well-planned fight" against the coronavirus pandemic has put India in an "abyss" of GDP contraction of 24 per cent, 12 crore job losses, 15.5 lakh crore additional stressed loans and the globally highest daily COVID-19 cases and deaths. The Congress has been accusing the Modi government of not handling the COVID-19 pandemic effectively, but the government has dismissed all such claims.

"Modi Govt's 'well-planned fight' against Covid has put India in an abyss of: 1. Historic GDP reduction of 24% 2. 12 crore jobs lost 3. 15.5 lac crores additional stressed loans 4. Globally highest daily Covid cases & deaths," Gandhi said in a tweet. But for the government of India and the media "sab changa si (all is well)", the former Congress chief said. According to the official data, the country's economy suffered its worst slump on record in the April-June quarter with the gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 23.9 per cent as the coronavirus-related lockdown weighed on the already declining consumer demand and investment.

India's COVID-19 caseload has gone past 46 lakh, though 36,24,196 people have recuperated so far taking the national recovery rate to 77.77 per cent on Saturday, according to the latest data from the Union health ministry. In another tweet, Gandhi said there was no hope of job creation and a safe future for youth anytime soon.

Tagging a report quoting Unilever global chief executive Alan Jope as saying that increasing COVID-19 cases is a worrying trend in India, Gandhi tweeted, "One of India's biggest employers is in 'wait and see' mode since Covid cases are rising." "So, no hope of job creation & safe future for youth anytime soon. Yet another outcome of Modi Govt’s sudden & unplanned lockdown which has snowballed India’s already-precarious economy," Gandhi said..