Uttarakhand CM Rawat says 'US ruled India for 200 years' while lauding PM's COVID efforts

Stirring another controversy, Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat on Sunday, claimed that India was thriving, while America - which he incorrectly claimed as having ruled India for 200 years - under the COVID-19 pandemic. Claiming that PM Modi's able leadership had allowed India to survive Coronavirus, he compared it to Italy which was inching towards another lockdown. Rawat has previously compared PM Modi to Lord Ram based on the 'work he has done for society'. Rawat took oath as the 9th Uttarakhand CM on March 10, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Rawat: 'America which ruled us for 200 years...'

"Under PM Modi's leadership, India and its 130 crore-strong population survived the Coronavirus pandemic. America which enslaved us for 200 years and ruled the world saying the 'sun will never set', is suffering. Its fatalities have crossed over 5 lakhs. Italy has 12 crore population and has excellent health facilities, but its death toll rose over a lakh, and is inching towards another lockdown. PM Modi has not only saved us, we also listened to him when he told us to wear masks, wash hands and socially distance," he said.

Moreover, while commenting on the state's free ration scheme, he stirred another controversy. Claiming that a family of two was 10 kgs, while a family of 10 were given 50 kgs of rice and a family of 20 was given a quintal of rice. Alleging jelousy on the part of the family of 2 for recieving only 10 kgs of rice, he asked, "Why did you produce only 2 instead of 20 at that time?".

Reacting to Rawat's remark, Congress tweeted. 'Just another BJP leader reminding us about the value of quality education.'

 Rawat's other conspiracies

On Tuesday,  Rawat sparked a controversy with his comments on women wearing ripped jeans opining that women and girls wearing ripped jeans do not provide the 'right environment' at home for children. Recalling his conversation with a lady on a flight who ran an NGO, the Uttarakhand CM expressed his distaste for women wearing ripped jeans. Elaborating on the incident, Rawat also said that he questioned the 'cultural values' she imparted to her children by wearing ripped jeans. Later, he apologised for his remark after facing backlash over his "ripped jeans" comment, but added that he has no problem with jeans with but wearing "torn" ones is "not right".

Last week, he said that as Ram was hailed as a God in Treta Yug, he claimed that PM Modi too will be hailed as a Lord in the coming times. "It is Modi's miracle. I have said many times, in Treta and Dwapar Yug, when Ram was there , he had done work for the society and people started to believe that He was a God. In the coming times, we will start to believe Narendra Modi as the same," said Rawat.