How bad are things? The surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, the images of fleeing migrants and the hugely divergent assessments of economic growth plus the government’s own opacity make it difficult to judge. These issues remain the focus of the opinion writers this weekend, says Kanika Datta.

If the experts say that the right comparison for what we are living through is with what happened in the Great Depression, then it is time our expectations of the future got less unreal, says T N Ninan. Read it here

Narendra Modi’s fifth monologue to a locked down nation was devoid of empathy and human connection, suggesting he is out of touch with the horrifying plight of migrant labour, says Sunil Sethi. Read it here

Stranded migrant workers were supposed to the India’s new generation of aspirational, working class Indians.

Modi and his government failed to account for their fate, says Shekhar Gupta. Read it here

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Our business has been severely affected by the COVID lockdowns. A large number of restaurants have already shut down permanently, and we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I expect the number of restaurants to shrink by 25-40 per cent over the next 6-12 months. What actually happens, for better or worse, is anybody’s guess,"

Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal after 500 employees were laid off