BackIndia crippled by political leadership, Modi govt has failed: Sonia Gandhi on Covid-19 crisis
Sonia Gandhi said that that the Modi Government ignored experts' advice and refused to strengthen the supply chains for oxygen, medicine, and ventilators.
PremiumCongress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Friday lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government for mishandling the Covid-19 pandemic. Gandhi said, "India is crippled by a political leadership today that has no empathy for the people. The Modi government has failed the people of our country".
The Congress President added that that the Modi Government ignored experts' advice and refused to strengthen the supply chains for oxygen, medicine, and ventilators. "The Modi Government failed to place sufficient orders for vaccines in time to meet the needs of our people. Instead, it consciously chose to allocate thousands of crores for non-essential projects that have nothing to do with the people's well-being".
Further, Gandhi said that Parliament had allocated ₹35,000 crore in the union budget 2021 to ensure free vaccines for all. "Yet the Modi Government has placed the burden on already stretched state governments," she added.
She asserted that the union government's inequitable vaccination policy will exclude millions of Dalits, Adivasis, other backward classes, as well as, the poor and the marginalised.
Gandhi said the Congress party has believed that fighting agaisnt coronavirus was never a "Government versus Us" battle but an "Us versus Corona" battle. "This battle transcends political differences. We have to fight this battle together as a nation".
Further, Gandhi demanded an all-party meeting and a meeting of Parliament Standing Committee on Health regarding the Covid-19 situation in the country.
Earlier, the Congress President had written a letter to PM Modi alleging the new COVID-19 vaccination policy was not only "discriminatory but also a complete abandonment of the youth" and urged the government to reverse the ill-considered decision.
"It is surprising that despite the harsh lessons of last year and the pain inflicted on our citizens, the government continues to follow an arbitrary and discriminatory policy, which promises to exacerbate existing challenges," she had written in the letter.
With a total of 4,14,188 new COVID-19 cases being recorded in the last 24 hours, India again reported its highest single-day spike on the second consecutive day.
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