Maverick BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has never shied away from taking potshots at figures in his own party. If the likes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former finance minister Arun Jaitley were his early targets, over the past year, Swamy has also taken to subtle criticism of the functioning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Swamy has used Twitter to point out alleged shortcomings in the Modi government's handling of the economy and the standoff with China over Ladakh.
India will survive Coronavirus Pandemic as it did Islamic invaders and British Imperialists. We could face one more wave that targets children unless strict precautions now are taken. Modi should therefore delegate the conduct of this war to Gadkari. Relying on PMO is useless
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 5, 2021
On Wednesday, Swamy dived into arguably more dangerous waters. Swamy argued the Modi government should delegate the fight against COVID-19 to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who handles portfolios of Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Swamy’s statements come as the Narendra Modi government, and Modi himself, has faced its worst criticism since first coming to power in 2014 over the handling of the COVID-19 situation.
Swamy tweeted, "India will survive Coronavirus Pandemic as it did Islamic invaders and British Imperialists. We could face one more wave that targets children unless strict precautions now are taken. Modi should therefore delegate the conduct of this war to Gadkari. Relying on PMO is useless." When asked by a Twitter user about why he preferred Gadkari, Swamy responded, "Because dealing with COVID 19 needs an infrastructure framework in which aspect Gadkari has proved his ability."
Swamy also touted Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as "another very capable minister", but noted " he is already in charge Defence, and No.2 rank in the Cabinet".
Swamy rejected criticism of Health Minister Harsh Vardhan over his handling of the COVID-19 situation. Swamy tweeted, "Harsh Vardhan has not been allowed free hand. But he is too polite to assert his authority. With Gadkari he will bloom."
Interestingly, Swamy sought to give the impression he was not targeting Modi himself. He tweeted, "PMO is a department not the Prime Minister himself."
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Over the past year, Swamy has repeatedly alleged the 'PMO' had impeded him. In February 2020, Swamy tweeted, "PMO will ensure my phone call [to Modi] is not connected on one pretext or another, and PM will not be informed. There is a hidden hand behind this."
In September that year, Swamy accused an official in the PMO of orchestrating a Twitter troll campaign against him.
