Sonia's criticism of govt's handling of coronavirus situation 'unfortunate': BJP

The BJP on Thursday described Congress president Sonia Gandhi's criticism of the Union government's handling of the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic as "unfortunate" and an unnecessary politicisation of the crisis.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking everyone along in his handling of the situation, and his measures, including the nationwide lockdown, have "received" praise from the world.

"We all have to work in one direction and take on the pandemic unitedly. There will be time for politics after we defeat the coronavirus," he told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi criticised the government for "unplanned" implementation of the countrywide lockdown saying it caused "chaos and pain" to millions of migrant workers.

Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) through video conferencing, she said the onus lies on the government to ensure that the spread of infection and casualties are not caused owing to lack of infrastructure or preparedness.