J.P. Nadda response is full of arrogance, says Congress

He better read NYT column written by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, says Chidambaram

Jaipur: Congress leader Ajay Maken with Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra addresses the media, in Jaipur, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (PTI Photo)(PTI31-08-2020_000186B)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda’s letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is a display of ‘arrogance’ by the Narendra Modi government but the principal Opposition party will continue to offer its constructive suggestions, the Congress said on Tuesday.

Mr. Nadda’s letter, in which he accused the Congress of ‘misleading’ the people on COVID-19, came on a day when the Congress launched an online SpeakUp campaign to press for uninterrupted oxygen supply and free vaccination.

“Instead of writing an ill-informed letter to the Congress president, BJP president Mr Nadda may read the guest column in the

New York Times on May 6, 2021. The authors are not Congress members. Their names may ring a bell in Mr. Nadda: Dr Abhijit Banerjee and Dr Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize winners,” former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tweeted.

Addressing a virtual press conference, Congress general secretary Ajay Maken pointed out that reputed journals

Lancet and Nature have detailed how the government has mishandled the pandemic. He said even the Indian Medical Association ( IMA) has been critical of the government’s approach.

“So, when the BJP accuses the Congress of politicising, are they also accusing

Lancet or

Nature ? Are they similarly accusing IMA that is an association of corona warriors with about 3.27 lakh members?” asked Mr. Maken. “Unfortunately, Mr. Nadda’s reply is full of arrogance. It does not behove of him to write like this.”

He said Congress leaders have been in touch with top global experts to discuss the situation and based on their discussions, they have been offering suggestions to the Modi government.

“We [Congress] have got vast administrative experience and using that vast administrative experience, contacts with world’s experts and scientists, we always come up with concrete suggestions. Why shouldn’t the government call the Opposition parties and listen to what we have to offer.”

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, targeted the Prime Minister and asked him to take off his rose-tinted glasses that allows him to see only the Central Vista project.

Referring to the incident in Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border where bodies of suspected COVID victims discovered, Mr. Gandhi tweeted, “Countless dead bodies flowing in the rivers. Queues in hospitals running into miles. Robbed people of their right to life. PM, take off those rose-tinted glasses through which nothing is seen except the Central Vista.”