India will pay the price of BJP's 'institutionalised' lies: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (July 19) continued his attack on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, accusing it of “institutionalising lies” and warning that “India will pay the price” for the administration’s poor handling of the economy, COVID-19 pandemic, and the border stand-off with China.

BJP has institutionalised lies.

1. Covid19 by restricting testing and misreporting deaths.
2. GDP by using a new calculation method.
3. Chinese aggression by frightening the media.

The illusion will break soon and India will pay the price.https://t.co/YR9b1kD1wB

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 19, 2020

Taking to Twitter, the Wayanad MP said, “BJP has institutionalised lies. 1. Covid19 by restricting testing and misreporting deaths. 2. GDP by using a new calculation method. 3. Chinese aggression by frightening the media,” adding that the “illusion will break soon” and that India will pay the price.

He also attached an article by The Washington Post titled, ‘As India skyrockets past 1 million coronavirus cases, a mystery surrounds death toll’.

Gandhi has been steadily criticising the Modi government over the past few months regarding the poor response to the COVID crisis and the manner of handling the border dispute with China.

The Wayanad MP said on Twitter on July 13, “India at good position in #COVID19 battle?”

He also attached a graph explaining the daily average in cases reported in various countries, with India indicating a worsening situation in the chart.

"India at good position in #COVID19 battle?" pic.twitter.com/HAJz7En6Wo

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 13, 2020

His tweet came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said India is at a “good position” in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and that the country will fight the disease with determination and enthusiasm.

Furthermore, on Saturday (July 18), Gandhi, taking a dig at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over India’s “cowardly actions”, explained why he believed China had acted aggressively in Ladakh.

“So today, you have a country which is economically in trouble, trouble as far as foreign policy is concerned, in trouble with its neighbours and that’s why the Chinese have decided that this is possibly this time to act. And that is why they have acted,” NDTV quoted him as saying.

He tweeted, “China has taken our land and GOI is behaving like Chamberlain. This will further embolden China. India is going to pay a huge price because of GOI’s cowardly actions.”

China has taken our land and GOI is behaving like Chamberlain. This will further embolden China.

India is going to pay a huge price because of GOI’s cowardly actions. pic.twitter.com/5ewIFvj5wy

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 18, 2020

The Congress leader has also been critical of the economic slump, a result of the lockdown enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19, which then led to the announcement of an economic stimulus package. He, along with other Congress leaders and experts, hit out at the government for the flaws in the package and the poor benefits that could be reaped from it.

On July 7, Gandhi hit out at the government over the “economic mismanagement” of the country, describing it as a “tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families”.

He wrote, “India’s economic mismanagement is a tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families. It will no longer be accepted silently” with the hashtag ‘#BJPsDistractAndRule’.

India’s economic mismanagement is a tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families.

It will no longer be accepted silently.#BJPsDistractAndRule pic.twitter.com/6idGN1A7xS

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 7, 2020

He also put out a screenshot of economic data relating to household income during the lockdown and highlighted three points – “8 in 10 Indian households lost income”, “Rural households worse hit than urban ones”, and “First time in decades, extreme poverty could see reverse trend”.