\'Coronavirus lockdown draconian; India flattened the wrong curve of GDP\': Rajiv Bajaj tells Rahul Gandhi

'Coronavirus lockdown draconian; India flattened the wrong curve of GDP': Rajiv Bajaj tells Rahul Gandhi

In an online conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Bajaj was also critical of India's approach to look at western nations such as the US, UK and Italy, instead of closer home-eastwards countries such as Japan, and South Korea to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

Rajiv Bajaj's conversation with Gandhi is part of a series where the former Congress President talks to experts on the impact of coronavirus outbreak on India

Industrialist Rajiv Bajaj said on Thursday that India ended up flattening the wrong curve of GDP in its bid to stem the coronavirus outbreak.

In a conversation with Congress MP and leader Rahul Gandhi, Bajaj called the current lockdown draconian as the country got the worst of both worlds with the COVID-19 cases still persisting and the economic situation worsening.

He highlighted that the economy has been decimated due to its (lockdown) fallout.

"The virus is waiting to hit you, so you have not solved that problem, but you have decimated the economy. You have flattened the wrong curve - not the infection curve but the GDP curve. This is what we have ended up with, the worst of both worlds," Rajiv Bajaj said during the virtual interaction with Gandhi.

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Bajaj was also critical of India's approach to look at western nations such as the US, UK and Italy, instead of closer home-eastwards countries such as Japan, and South Korea to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

"India not only looked west, but went wild west. We stayed more towards the impervious side. We tried to implement a hard lockdown which was still porous. The virus, which is waiting to hit when you unlock,...We should have never been looking at the west, who are geographically and demographically different from us," he said.

Bajaj's conversation with Gandhi is part of a series where the former Congress President talks to experts on the impact of coronavirus outbreak on India.

Bajaj further argued that the virus count paced up rapidly as soon as the Centre eased the lockdown. Meanwhile, GDP tumbled in a manner rarely witnessed in the country, he added.

"There were various forms of lockdown that we could have opted for. We chose a hard lockdown that was porous, because of which the virus situation here is still persisting," he underscored summing up the situation.

The industrialist also spoke at length about how negative sentiment around coronavirus has affected India. He pointed out that the government has not disclosed the facts and truth around the infection making people think of it as a contagion like cancer.

Talking about unlocking the economy, Bajaj underscored that it is not a smooth one and the fear around the virus is to be blamed.

Describing the opening up of the economy as a herculean task, he emphasised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must communicate the message to citizens that things are under control to allay fears.

Also Read:Coronavirus: 'Govt's lockdown has failed, what is Plan B?' asks Rahul Gandhi