New Delhi: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing headline management, the Congress said Tuesday his address to the nation was ‘much ado about nothing’ as he belied expectations and skipped any mention of the border standoff with China. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said Narendra Modi did not look the ‘enemy’ in the eye, which was expected of him after a bloody standoff with China in Ladakh, June 15.
“Our biggest expectation was that the PM will gather the courage and the will to look at China in the eye and reply to the enemy. Take the enemy head-on and make a very strong statement against what China is doing. But the PM once again shied away,” she said.
The Congress has been demanding the prime minister to name China as ‘aggressor’ and send a strong message to it after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clash with Chinese troops. The Centre banned 59 mobile applications Monday with Chinese links, including TikTok and UC Browser.
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During his 16-minute televised address, Modi cautioned people against laxity in following government guidelines and taking precautions against the coronavirus. He said India was comparatively better positioned vis-a-vis many other countries because of ‘timely imposition’ of a nationwide lockdown and other decisions of his government.
Shrinate said many had hoped the prime minister would talk about substantive steps to contain the pandemic and putting the economy back on track, but he did not. She said the prime minister only talked about the extension of an existing scheme, which could have been done by issuing a simple notification.
“Neither did the prime minister talk about job losses and wage cuts nor did he announce the much needed relief to migrant labourers and the poor,” Shrinate pointed out.
Urging Modi to ensure a cash transfer of Rs 7,500 to the poor, Shrinate said he should keep ‘raj dharma’ and national interest in mind in doing so.
The prime minister said everything was well but the truth is ‘far from that’ as India is among the top four nations as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned, he added.