Opposition leader Sharad Yadav on Monday warned that the economy will be "ruined" if the country's huge labour force, which he said has been left without work due to the lockdown, is not quickly rehabilitated and asked the Union government to act fast to do this.
"There is no doubt that COVID-19 is a worldwide natural disaster but this could have been managed in a systematic manner in our country, and our labour force would not have to leave for villages and face hunger," the former Union minister said in a statement.
"The government needs to act fast to find ways and means to rehabilitate our labour force otherwise not only the economy but the country will be ruined," he said.
The Loktantrik Janata Dal leader claimed that India would have been in a much better position if the lockdown was imposed earlier but, he alleged, the government was busy in other affairs.
Migrant workers who left for their villages are suffering due to hunger and lack of money, he alleged.
He also asked the government to allow political parties to open their offices while following social distancing guidelines, saying that it will allow them to get feedback about the ground reality.