"Even Pakistan and Afghanistan handled COVID better than India", criticises Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: On Friday, former President of the Indian National Congress, criticised the Modi-led BJP government over its abysmal handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on the Indian economy.

Citing the International Monetary Fund’s ‘World Economic Outlook” report, Gandhi revealed that the Indian economy is expected to contract by a massive 10.3 percent this year alone, sardonically referring to it as a “solid achievement” by the government - adding insult to injury by stating that “even Pakistan and Afghanistan handled [COVID] better than India”.

The following chart shows the IMF growth projections (between 2020-2021), which shows that the Indian economy has one of the steepest declines in the region, with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan. However, the report adds that the Indian economy is expected to bounce back - if the pandemic is managed effectively - with a projected growth rate of 8.8 percent in 2021; trouncing China’s projected rate of 8.2 percent.

With 7.37 million cases so far (an additional 67,000 today), and over 112,000 deaths, the BJP government’s management of the coronavirus pandemic has been internationally criticised, further exacerbated by the incidences of targeted violence and discriminatory behavior against Muslims and minority groups, even under a nationally-imposed lockdown.