Even Pakistan handled COVID better than India: Rahul on IMF projections

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the Centre on Friday (October 16) over the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projection that the Indian economy is set to contract by a massive 10.3 per cent this year, saying it was another “solid achievement” by the government.

Gandhi took a swipe at the government on Twitter by tagging a chart that showed IMF growth projections for 2020-21 for Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and India.

The chart showed that the Indian economy is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 per cent this year, the highest contraction among the countries mentioned.

“Another solid achievement by the BJP government. Even Pakistan and Afghanistan handled Covid better than India,” Gandhi tweeted with the chart.

The former Congress chief on Wednesday had also taken a dig at the government over IMF growth projections showing Bangladesh closing in on India in terms of per capita GDP this year and described it as a “solid achievement” of six years of BJP’s “hate-filled cultural nationalism”.

The Indian economy, severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund had said on Tuesday.

However, India is likely to bounce back with an impressive 8.8 per cent growth rate in 2021, thus regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy, surpassing China’s projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.