Modi Govt's Sudden Lockdown 'Death Sentence' For Poor in Informal Economy - Rahul Gandhi

India's informal economy has been hit hardest by the near-curfew-like lockdown, with millions of job losses and the crisis facing migrant workers. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has also contracted, shedding a record 23.9 percent during April-June, and the country has entered its biggest recession in the past 40 years.

Continuing his tirade against the Narendra Modi government, Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi shared a new video on Wednesday saying the sudden lockdown has proved to be a death sentence for the unorganised section of the economy, which provides incomes to the nation's poor.

He slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for its "inefficient" preparations to fight coronavirus and its ineffective measures to improve the economy.

Talking about Modi's "anti-disaster" plan in his fourth video on economic issues, the former head of the Congress Party said "The poor survive on daily wages. When you imposed lockdown without notice, you attacked this section. The promise was to end the corona (crisis) in 21 days, but it (lockdown) finished millions of jobs and small industries."

अचानक किया गया लॉकडाउन असंगठित वर्ग के लिए मृत्युदंड जैसा साबित हुआ।

वादा था 21 दिन में कोरोना ख़त्म करने का, लेकिन ख़त्म किए करोड़ों रोज़गार और छोटे उद्योग।

मोदी जी का जनविरोधी 'डिज़ास्टर प्लान' जानने के लिए ये वीडियो देखें। pic.twitter.com/VWJQ3xAqmG

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 9, 2020

​The Wayanad constituency lawmaker reiterated that instead of helping small industries with relief packages and adopting policies such as direct cash transfers during the pandemic, the government offered tax breaks worth millions of dollars to the rich.

Previously, Rahul had attacked the federal government with a list of "Modi-Made disasters", which included the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the demonetisation of high-value paper currency and the lockdown.

India is reeling under Modi-made disasters:

1. Historic GDP reduction -23.9%
2. Highest Unemployment in 45 yrs
3. 12 Crs job loss
4. Centre not paying States their GST dues
5. Globally highest COVID-19 daily cases and deaths
6. External aggression at our borders

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 2, 2020

​The informal sector of India, which lacks a minimum wage and has no job security, comprises 90% of the country’s workforce. According to a survey by the non-profit group Action Aid India, 80 percent of workers in the informal sector suffered job losses amid rising unemployment.

Meanwhile, the Indian government had announced a stimulus package worth $22.36 billion for the poor and daily wage-earners who have lost their jobs during the lockdown.