Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began his press conference saying, “I will be making some remarks today and they should not be taken in the spirit of criticism, but of constructive support and advice”.

Testing Biggest Weapon | The biggest weapon we have against the virus is testing. One advice to the government is to push testing aggressively and strategically. Testing at a scale so you know where the virus is moving and you can isolate & fight it. Our testing rate is 199/million & if you look at all tests that have been done it’s an average of only 350 per district.

Lockdown Just a Pause Button| Lockdown is in no way a solution to tackling COVID-19. Lockdown is like a pause button. When we come out of the lockdown, the virus is going to start its work again. Use testing to assist states in their fight, not just to track patients but to see where the virus is moving.

The country is in Emergency | Country has reached a level where it is in an emergency situation. What has happened, has already happened. Let us see what is to be done next. There is a need for effective utilization of resources. So I suggest that our fight against COVID-19 should not be top-down but a bottom-top approach. Prime Minister should empower states. Central Govt must speak to the district administration openly and directly. Give GST due to states, discuss the steps with the states.

NYAY Like Scheme | We need to do two to three things strategically — on the healthcare and economic front. There will be a food shortage. Use our food storages to feed the poor. Use some other name instead of ‘NYAY’ scheme if you want, but give a minimum income to people. Also, create protection for companies. People are becoming unemployed and it is going to get worse. Prepare packages for MSMEs, who can employ people as well as for bigger companies.

Hotspot Identification | Use testing to identify hotspots and then clampdown on these hotspots. Identify the hotspots and other zones while opening up.

COVID has to be Managed | The best line I have heard in my conversations is that “COVID-19 cannot be controlled, it has to be managed”. On the migrant issue, a couple of mistakes were made. It is going to become a bigger problem going forward. I have asked my (Congress’) chief ministers to address these issues.

Strategic Opening of Lockdown | I am advocating the strategic opening of the lockdown where the state governments are testing and checking what is happening dynamically. You will see massive pressure on our financial system. You have to think strategically. We have to not only protect human life but also ensure that it does not destroy our economy.

India First | Frankly, I am not concerned about other countries. I am concerned about India. There are many areas we need to think about — testing, food shortage, financial impact, protection for MSMEs. We need to act on these things. This battle has just begun. It would be wrong to declare a victory already.

Everyone is Impacted | Unfortunately, the nature of the crisis is such that everybody is impacted. The response has to be such that it is compassionate to everybody. Do not use all your ammunition right now. Remember, there is going to be a financial backlash.

Shortage of Testing Kits | There is a shortage of testing kits. That is the reality. But we need to find a way out to scale up testing because you cannot fight COVID-19 without testing.

United Against COVID | I disagree with Narendra Modi on a lot of issues, but now is not the time to fight. Let us all unite and fight against the virus.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began his press conference saying, “I will be making some remarks today and they should not be taken in the spirit of criticism, but of constructive support and advice”.

Testing Biggest Weapon | The biggest weapon we have against the virus is testing. One advice to the government is to push testing aggressively and strategically. Testing at a scale so you know where the virus is moving and you can isolate & fight it. Our testing rate is 199/million & if you look at all tests that have been done it’s an average of only 350 per district.

Lockdown Just a Pause Button| Lockdown is in no way a solution to tackling COVID-19. Lockdown is like a pause button. When we come out of the lockdown, the virus is going to start its work again. Use testing to assist states in their fight, not just to track patients but to see where the virus is moving.

The country is in Emergency | Country has reached a level where it is in an emergency situation. What has happened, has already happened. Let us see what is to be done next. There is a need for effective utilization of resources. So I suggest that our fight against COVID-19 should not be top-down but a bottom-top approach. Prime Minister should empower states. Central Govt must speak to the district administration openly and directly. Give GST due to states, discuss the steps with the states.

NYAY Like Scheme | We need to do two to three things strategically — on the healthcare and economic front. There will be a food shortage. Use our food storages to feed the poor. Use some other name instead of ‘NYAY’ scheme if you want, but give a minimum income to people. Also, create protection for companies. People are becoming unemployed and it is going to get worse. Prepare packages for MSMEs, who can employ people as well as for bigger companies.

Hotspot Identification | Use testing to identify hotspots and then clampdown on these hotspots. Identify the hotspots and other zones while opening up.

COVID has to be Managed | The best line I have heard in my conversations is that “COVID-19 cannot be controlled, it has to be managed”. On the migrant issue, a couple of mistakes were made. It is going to become a bigger problem going forward. I have asked my (Congress’) chief ministers to address these issues.

Strategic Opening of Lockdown | I am advocating the strategic opening of the lockdown where the state governments are testing and checking what is happening dynamically. You will see massive pressure on our financial system. You have to think strategically. We have to not only protect human life but also ensure that it does not destroy our economy.

India First | Frankly, I am not concerned about other countries. I am concerned about India. There are many areas we need to think about — testing, food shortage, financial impact, protection for MSMEs. We need to act on these things. This battle has just begun. It would be wrong to declare a victory already.

Everyone is Impacted | Unfortunately, the nature of the crisis is such that everybody is impacted. The response has to be such that it is compassionate to everybody. Do not use all your ammunition right now. Remember, there is going to be a financial backlash.

Shortage of Testing Kits | There is a shortage of testing kits. That is the reality. But we need to find a way out to scale up testing because you cannot fight COVID-19 without testing.

United Against COVID | I disagree with Narendra Modi on a lot of issues, but now is not the time to fight. Let us all unite and fight against the virus.