BJP MP hits out at Gandhis for 'triggering panic' amid COVID-19 pandemic

West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma targeted the Gandhi family on Monday, saying Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be "quarantined" till the lockdown ends in order to stop them from triggering "panic" among people already hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Congress retaliated to Verma's assault, asking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to answer people over the issues of migrant workers' plight and "unplanned lockdown", instead of personal attacks on its leaders.

Verma said since the lockdown was imposed in the country on March 25, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were "finding faults" in it and triggering panic among people, who are already facing challenges on many fronts.

"Now they have started declaring the lockdown as a failure and triggering panic at a time when people are already troubled due to the disease and loss of livelihood. I think they should be quarantined till the lockdown ends for working like a virus," Verma told PTI.

The top Congress leadership has been critical of the Narendra Modi government's handling of the pandemic and more so after lakhs of migrant workers started moving from urban centres to their home states across the country.

Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said as a responsible Member of Parliament, Verma should ask the government why lakhs of migrants have been forced to go through this humanitarian crisis, if the lockdown is a success.

"Instead of attacking our leaders, he should also tell people why our economy is destroyed, people have lost their means of livelihood and still the cases of coronavirus are rising, if the lockdown has been so effective," he said.

Kumar said Congress leaders were fulfilling their duty of a vigilant opposition by questioning the government over the "shortcomings" in its strategy to fight the pandemic and Verma, as a ruling party MP, should address it, instead of issuing "nonsense" statements.