'We have worst of both worlds': Shashi Tharoor lashes out at Centre's response to COVID-19, 'mismanagement' of economy

Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday lashed out at the Centre over response towards COVID-19 pandemic and the manage ment of the economy.

"We have the worst of both worlds. We have neither managed to limit the spread of the virus nor have we managed to keep the economy afloat. GDP for the first time in 41 years will actually shrink, our employment crisis has even become worst before, small and medium businesses have been devastated, trade is crashed and foreseeable national prospects are dying," he said in the Lok Sabha.

"Even though people of this country were given three days` notice before locking down for a mere 17-hour Janata Curfew on a Sunday when most individuals spend a lot of time at home anyway. A trial for a longer national lockdown what followed was horrific," Tharoor said.

"The Prime Minister in his address to residents of his constituency likened the disaster he had unleashed upon the nation to Kurukshetra. He said that Mahabharat took 18 days before victory was earned and tackling the COVID-19 will take 21 days. 180 days have passed, our national caseload is the second largest in the world and heading for number 1. Daily cases have nearly reached a lakh. The economy is in tatters having suffered a contraction far more severe than any other country," he added. 

He also alleged that had the government listened to warning about the virus made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others, the situation surely would have been managed better.

"The failure to adequately recognise the scale and complexity of the problem the nation was dealing with, compounded their unwillingness to listen to the voices that warned well in advance of the consequences of ignoring the problem of such magnitude," he said.

India's COVID-19 case tally crossed 54-lakh mark with a spike of 92,605 new cases and 1,133 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

The total case tally stands at 54,00,620 including 10,10,824 active cases, 43,03,044 cured/discharged/migrated and 86,752 deaths, the Ministry said.

As far as active cases of coronavirus are concerned, Maharashtra has 3,01,273 active cases, Karnataka 1,01,148, Andhra Pradesh 84,423, Uttar Pradesh 67,825 and Tamil Nadu 46,506.

(With agency inputs)