In a major gaffe on Sunday, the newly-appointed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat confused the United Kingdom (UK) with the United States of America (USA).
In a speech, Rawat was seen comparing India's handling of the coronavirus pandemic to that of the US. However, the Chief Minister wrongly used Britain's colonial past to describe the North American country.
"America, which enslaved us for 200 years, which ruled the world, under whose empire it was said the sun didn't set...recorded more than 2.75 lakh deaths due to COVID-19 and is still struggling," said Rawat.
US, which has less population and better health infrastructure than India, is now heading towards a lockdown, he added. "As opposed to other countries, India is doing better in terms of handling the COVID-19 crisis, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister noted.
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Rawat's comparison of India and the US in terms of handling the pandemic is appropriate as the latter has recorded more fatalities. As per the lastest reports, the US has recorded 5.41 lakh deaths, while India's death toll stands at 1,59,755.
However, the Chief Minister's gaffe left Twitter in splits. "Oh no. Another Biplab Deb type CM," said a Twitter user. "This is why you should go to school and not shakha," tweeted another Twitter user.
Check out a few Twitter reactions:
