Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) via video conference on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the coronavirus pandemic and said the country is in a crisis due to the "mismanagement" of the BJP-led government and the "wrong policies" pursued by it."India has been hit by a terrible economic crisis, a pandemic of huge proportions and, now, by a full-blown crisis on the borders with China. Much of each crisis is attributable to the mismanagement of the BJP-led NDA government and the wrong policies pursued by it. The cumulative effect is widespread misery, fear, and danger to the security and territorial integrity of the country," she said.
"The need of the hour is a massive fiscal stimulus, putting money directly in the hands of the poor, protecting and nurturing the MSMEs, and stimulating demand. Instead, the government announced a hollow financial package that had a fiscal component of less than 1 per cent of GDP," she said. "The government has added insult to injury by mercilessly raising petrol and diesel prices for 17 consecutive days, at a time when world prices of crude have fallen. The result is that a sliding economy is now hurtling toward a recession for the first time in 42 years," she added.
"Now, we have a full-blown crisis on the LAC with China. The undeniable fact is that since April-May, 2020 till date, Chinese troops have committed brazen transgressions into our territory in Pangong Tso Lake area and the Galwan Valley, Ladakh. True to its character, the government is in denial," she said during the meeting."The intrusion was detected and reported on May 5, 2020. Instead of a resolution, the situation deteriorated rapidly and there were violent clashes on June 15-16. Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred, 85 injured and 10 went missing until they were returned. The Prime Minister was called out when he announced that 'no one had intruded into Indian territory in Ladakh'," she added. "On matters of national security and territorial integrity, the nation has always stood together and this time too, there is no second opinion. The Congress Party was the first to offer its total support to the Armed Forces and the government. However, there is a growing feeling among the people that the government has gravely mishandled the situation," she stated.
Supporting Gandhi's contention, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said, "The pandemic is not being tackled with the courage and magnitude and effort needed to tackle the crisis. Another instance is the crisis on the border, which if not tackled firmly, can lead to a serious situation."
( With inputs from ANI )