The Congress has been steadfast in its criticism of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package ever since it was announced by the Narendra Modi government a week ago.
गज़ब का सुझाव एक डॉक्टर द्वारा:-@narendramodi @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/yVBbkd8Fve
— Kishore Upadhyay (@KupadhyayINC) May 16, 2020
If Rahul Gandhi suggested that the package focus on direct assistance to farmers and migrants rather than loans, party spokesperson Anand Sharma claimed the government had inflated the package's worth significantly.
But a former minister of the Congress government in Uttarakhand is being trolled for giving what many considered to be a bizarre 'suggestion'. Kishore Upadhyay was minister for industries in the Congress government in Uttarakhand in 2002-2004 and also served as president of the Congress committee in the state.
On Saturday, Upadhyay tweeted an image that said "If Rs 1 crore is given to each person (in India), then an expenditure of only Rs 135 crore (equal to the approximate population of India) would be incurred; Why spend Rs 20 lakh crore?" Upadhyay wrote along with the image ,"A strange suggestion from a doctor".
Upadhyay's tweet earned over 2,500 tweets and in excess of 5,000 comments. Not surprisingly, many were critical of the post. Popular rightwing 'influencer' Rishi Bagree asked whether "the mathematics for the post was suggested by [former prime minister] Manmohan Singh". However, some Twitter users claimed Upadhyay was just being sarcastic.
