Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday claimed the entire world has been lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s management of the coronavirus pandemic. Shah cited a survey by a United States-based data intelligence company which placed Modi ahead of several other world leaders in terms of approval ratings.

“Truth is self evident!” Shah posted on Twitter. “[The] entire world is praising PM Narendra Modi, the way he is handling COVID-19 global pandemic, taking care of Indians and helping the world community in such challenging times.” Shah added that the people of India trust Modi’s leadership and feel safe in the current scenario because of him.

The survey, conducted by Morning Consult, claimed that Modi was ahead of United States President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron in terms of ratings in their respective countries.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had tweeted the same survey, hailing the prime minister for leading public-opinion based approval ratings among world leaders. “PMO India leads #IndiaFightsCorona from the front,” she wrote on Twitter. “Consistent high approval ratings for Narendra Modi. Nation has confidence in its leadership in an extraordinary situation due [to] a pandemic.”

The US-based firm said that the results of the survey were based on 447 daily interviews for every non-American leader (7,039 for Trump), conducted between January 1 and April 14.

On Wednesday, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates had praised Modi for the measures implemented by his government to control Covid-19, NDTV reported. “We commend your leadership and the proactive measures you and your government have taken to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection rate in India, such as adopting a national lockdown, expanding focused testing to identify hotspots for isolation, quarantining, and care,” he had written in his letter to Modi.

The World Health Organization had also praised Modi for announcing a Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package for the poor, who have been the worst-hit by the nationwide lockdown to control the pandemic. The organisation had also lauded India for its aggressive containment measures to slow down the spread of Covid-19.

However, Modi has faced fierce criticism from the Opposition for not announcing concrete measures to rebuild India’s damaged economy. The government has also been criticised for the plight of migrant workers, left without work due to the nationwide lockdown. There have also been reports from medical health professionals on the insufficient stock of personal protective equipment and poor condition of quarantine facilities from some parts of the country.

The number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 21,700 and 686 patients have died, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Thursday evening update. However, the Indian Council of Medical Research said at least 21,797 people have tested positive so far. The ministry said it was reconciling its figures with those of the ICMR.

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