Use "Made In India" Products, Give Up Chinese Ones: Manohar Lal Khattar

It's China versus world due to coronavirus, Haryana Chief Minister said. (File)

Blaming China for the global spread of coronavirus infection, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday urged people to use "Made in India" products and give up the lure for Chinese goods.

Mr Khattar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for an "Atmanirbhar Bharat" or self-reliant India implies the country has to be less dependent on imported goods and make products for the world.

"To achieve 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), we will have to run a campaign and for this, we will have to keep many important aspects before us. One aspect the prime minister talked about is 'local for vocal'," Mr Khattar said speaking on "Post Corona: Self-Reliant India'' at a webinar organized by Kurukshetra University.

"We will have to use big and small products manufactured in our country, our state, our tehsils and our villages," he asserted.

Urging people to shun Chinese goods, Mr Khattar said we all have to give up the lure, if any, for Chinese products, because this East Asian country has pitted itself against the entire world amid the COVID pandemic.

"It's China versus world due to coronavirus," said Mr Khattar.

"We have no lure for Chinese goods, we don't have to bring them here," the chief minister said in Hindi.

Squarely blaming China for the birth of deadly coronavirus, Mr Khattar asserted, "This virus emanated from China. Had China controlled it, it would not have become a global pandemic."

"The world got this pandemic from China. If anyone is to be held responsible for this situation, it is China. China today is cut off from the world. From an economic point of view too, they are cut off," reiterated the chief minister.

Stressing on self-reliance, he said, "When we stand on our own feet, our economy will become better and our avenues for employment will grow. Other countries can import from us and our exports will grow."

On the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus announced by the Centre for various sections of the society and various sectors of the industry, Mr Khattar said Prime Minister Modi announced this package to help the country continue its growth.

"No other country has announced such a big package," he said.

Mr Khattar also made a mention of 4,119 startups registered by the youth in Haryana, saying the number is twice that in Rajasthan, four times that in Punjab, five times that in Uttarakhand and 14 times that in Himachal Pradesh.

On the COVID situation, he said the people will have to changes their lifestyle to prevent the spread of the virus with precautions like social distancing and sanitization.