New Delhi [India], May 31 (ANI): Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh reacted sharply to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for Unlock 1 which allows almost all activities, outside containment zones, to resume that were prohibited earlier during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "Our party leader Rahul Gandhi had already said that the government has completely failed in the case of lockdown. Now, the government is accepting that there are no benefits of lockdown. When there were 500 COVID-19 cases, the government had decided to go for lockdown. Today, when the cases have reached around 1.8 lakh, then lockdown norms have been eased, except for containment zones.

"The government should take precautions. People should also take precautions. Everything is open now, so the Centre should especially focus on health facilities, as that is the only solution for COVID-19," the former Union Minister said.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national spokesperson, Sudhindra Bhadoria, has slammed the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The Modi government completed one year in power in the second term.

"We have seen the mismanagement in the last one year, more particularly during the coronavirus crisis. It has been managed very badly as far as the migrants and the poor are concerned. They have died on the railway tracks, they have died while travelling back to their homes.""I think Modi Ji has let the people down in this coronavirus crisis phase, instead of giving a solution," he added.

Earlier, the MHA said that lockdown will continue in containment zones till June 30 and only essential activities will be allowed in those areas.

It also issued new guidelines for phased re-opening of "all activities outside containment zones for the next one month beginning June 1".

The guidelines for the phased re-opening -- Unlock 1 -- of the nationwide lockdown will come into effect from June 1 and will be effective till June 30.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country is 1,73,763, including 86,422 active cases. While 82,369 patients have recovered after treatment, 4,971 deaths have been reported due to the infection. (ANI)