Published 16:28 IST, April 5th 2020
PM Modi reaches out to Sonia Gandhi among other Opposition netas amid Coronavirus fight
Rallying all parties to fight the pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19), PM Modi, on Sunday, called various party chiefs like Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Mulayam etc.
Rallying all parties to fight the pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19), PM Modi, on Sunday, called various party chiefs like Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Mulayam & Akhilesh Singh Yadav (SP), Naveen Patnaik (BJD), KCR (TRS), M K Stalin (DMK) and Parkash Singh Badal (Akali Dal). This development comes after Union Minister Prahlad Joshi informed that PM Modi will hold an all-party meeting over the novel Coronavirus outbreak on April 8 via video conferencing. The Opposition had accused the Modi government of not engaging political parties even though the PM has interacted with notable members of civil society like sportspersons and senior journalists.
PM dials Opposition leaders
Congress slams Modi govt on COVID-19 measures
While Rahul Gandhi has time and again criticised the government's 'lack of testing', Congress interim-chief Sonia Gandhi criticised the government for "unplanned" implementation of the countrywide lockdown that had caused "chaos and pain" to millions of migrant workers, in the CWC meeting on Thursday. Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) through video conferencing, Gandhi said the country was in the midst of unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis which can be overcome only if everyone acts in solidarity. She also called upon the Centre to publish and make available details of designated hospitals, number of beds, quarantine and testing facilities, as well as information regarding the availability of medical supplies to the general public. BJP has hit out at Gandhi's criticism calling it 'petty politics'.
Coronavirus crisis in India
As of date, 3374 positive cases have been reported of the pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19) - 266 have been discharged and Maharashtra reported the highest at 690. 77 deaths have been reported till date. India has suspended all visas and barred travel from Afghanistan, Philippines, EU, UK, China, Malaysia and mandatory 14-day quarantine from several other countries. The Prime Minister has issued a 21-day countrywide lockdown starting from 23 March to April 15 and the Finance Minister has announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package under the 'PM Gareeb Kalyan Scheme'.
Updated 17:45 IST, April 5th 2020