Union minister Nitin Gadkari claims coronavirus not natural and came 'from a laboratory': Report

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday claimed that the coronavirus was “not natural” and came “from a laboratory,” NDTV reported. Gadkari was speaking to the channel in the aftermath of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman’s announcements for small businesses. [caption id=“attachment_4250693” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. PTI[/caption] “We have to understand the art of living with corona. This is not a natural virus. It is an artificial virus and now many countries in the whole world — they are researching on it for a vaccine. The vaccine is not available, it is expected that vaccine will be available as soon as possible, then there will be no problem,” Gadkari told NDTV. “[This] virus [is] from laboratory, this is not natural virus, so the world is now prepared, India is now prepared, scientists are prepared. After finding a solution for that, we can create confidence. After taking a vaccine there will be no problem,” he added, as per the NDTV report. Gadkari further added that people need to learn the art of living with the coronavirus. “Masks are mandatory. Maintain a distance of more than one metre. Use sanitiser every time you enter home and office. I expect beauty parlours, salons and malls to open soon, but we need to follow guidelines,” Gadkari told ANI. On the revision of the definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the minister said: “It is very important. Now they will get all benefits. Earlier, there was a classification between manufacturing and service enterprises. Now there is no classification, both are one…” He underlined the need to develop khadi and village industry as it is giving maximum employment in backward areas. Gadkari added, “We have a turnover of Rs 88,000 crore of village industries. Now, we have to make it Rs five lakh crore within two years. This can be helpful for khadi industries. We will increase exports.” With inputs from ANI