Rajiv Bajaj, the MD of Bajaj Auto, who had fear-mongered about an economic slump post the coronavirus-induced lockdown, took off on his usual anti-India and anti-government rant in a recent interview with NDTV ‘journalist’ Sreenivas Jain.
The business magnet was invited by NDTV as a guest speaker to speak on a host of topics ranging from the made in India Covid-19 vaccine to recently announced the Union Budget 2021 to his company Bajaj Auto announcing record profit and revenue for Q3FY21. And during the course of the interview, Rajiv Bajaj, a confidant of Congress’ senior leader Rahul Gandhi, came across to be quite displeased with the central government.
The Indian entrepreneur who has repeatedly come across as an eternal member of the anti-India and anti-Modi brigade claimed that “a relatively large number of people in India are illiterate, ignorant and indisciplined”.
When asked whether he would want to reconsider his critical opinions on the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the Indian economy, the Bajaj Auto MD reiterated his lies and distortions to allege that the government had been incompetent in handling the coronavirus crisis and the resulting economic downturn faced by the country. He claimed Indian economy is in bad condition despite announcing record profit for his company.
#NDTVExclusive | “There was no need for the government to completely lock up such a young and relatively healthy country. They should’ve adopted a more calibrated and customised approach,” says Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto to NDTV’s Sreenivasan Jain on #ExecutiveDecision pic.twitter.com/oUdtAnNEct
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 5, 2021
Restating his previous views on the COVID-19 lockdown, Bajaj said: “There was no need for the government to completely lock up such a young and relatively healthy country. They should’ve adopted a more calibrated and customised approach.”
For those uninitiated, Rajiv Bajaj had earlier, in an interview, he partook with him bosom pal Rahul Gandhi, called the lockdown imposed in India to control the pandemic as a “draconian” measure which ended up damaging the economy. According to Bajaj, the coronavirus lockdown had flattened the wrong curve, that is GDP, and hadn’t really been successful in containing the virus.
Amusingly, a week after Bajaj had called the lockdown placed by the government due to deadly coronavirus pandemic as “draconian lockdown” claiming that it would damage the economy, his company had recorded highest-ever monthly sale.
During the course of the interview, Rajiv Bajaj, much to the likes of his ally, belittled the Indian-developed COVID-19 vaccines saying that for him the risks related to the Indian vaccine outweigh its benefits. “Between being for or against the vaccine, I believe t here is a middle path where you ask yourself, do the risks outweigh the benefits? For someone like me, I believe they do”, says Rajiv Bajaj, insinuating that the Indian vaccines are not safe as it has been hurriedly ‘pushed’ in a years time.
#NDTVExclusive | “Adar Poonawalla is a friend and I admire him for what he is doing.. but between being for or against the vaccine, a middle path – do the risks outweigh the benefits? For someone like me, I believe they do,” says Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto#ExecutiveDecision pic.twitter.com/Kq4EYf8cq4
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 5, 2021
Bajaj claims that instead of opting for the vaccine he rather be infected with the pathogen, as it only causes a rise in body temperature and few other mild symptoms like body ache. To this, the NDTV journo Sreenivas Jain is heard saying that Bajaj is talking about taking a big risk. “Though the Indian vaccine is 99% safe, there is always a risk of 1-2%, where cases turn critical or even fatal”, said Jain, to which Bajaj replies, “well, that this is the risk I take every time I step on to the Indian roads, which has the dubious distinction in road fatalities worldwide”, taking a sly dig at the road condition of India.
Questioned on the 2021 Union Budget, the Indian entrepreneur says that in his 30 years of his career, he has never heard the budget. One wonders here, then what made NDTV consider Bajaj suitable to give ‘expert’ comments on the Budget and India’s economy.
Speaking on the record sales his company made in the third quarter of FY21, the businessman owed it to the overseas sales and said it had nothing to do with the “good or poor state of the economy of India”.
#NDTVExclusive | Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto on his company announcing record profit and revenue for Q3FY21#ExecutiveDecision pic.twitter.com/4GWQfL4ZJC
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 5, 2021
With Rajiv Bajaj’s political inclinations apparent, these pessimistic and demoralized opinions about the Modi government is not surprising, but what is beyond belief is that in his extreme hate for Modi, Bajaj does not even hesitate to lie and spread falsehood, falsifying the image of India amongst other nations.
