The Indian National Congress' former president and MP of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi tore apart the measures being taken up by the union government in the wake of the spread of coronavirus epidemic in India. He felt lockdown alone is not a final solution to get the virus spreading contained. He advises the government the scale of testing should be increased. Following are the excerpts of his speech during the press meet held by him on Thursday.
* The existing testing strategy for coronavirus is wrong. It's scale should be increased quite aggressively. A big number of testing kits are needed to fight against the virus. Else, your efforts go in vain.
* Lockdown is not a final solution at the moment. It cannot prevent the virus. It's something like a 'pause' button.
* Give GST and pending dues to states immediately.
* The government should utilize the funds effectively.
* India stares at food shortage and economic crisis. What's the government's strategy here?
* Massive financial backlash is going to come.
* COVID cannot be controlled but it can be managed.
* This could be a prolonged fight and we should fight with great spirits.