Congress flays govt on 'confusion' over corona situation

Addressing the media through video link, former Union Minister Ajay Maken said there was confusion in the government over the Covid-19 situation. "How will India fight the pandemic if officials speak in different voices?" he asked.

Maken quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first address to nation on March 24 before the nationwide lockdown: "The battle of Mahabharat ended in 18 days, I need 21 days to combat the spread of Covid-19." But Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul and AIIMS Director Sandeep Guleria were saying something different on the situation, he said.

Maken played a video clip of the Prime Minister and the Niti Aayog member. "The government should tell people about exact Covid-19 situation to enable them to prepare accordingly," Maken said. He said the people were confused as all senior officials of the government are giving different statements on the Covid-19 situation.

He said a number of countries such as South Korea and Germany came out of lockdown as they planned accordingly. But the countries like the US and UK could not control the pandemic as they tried to project their "muscleman" image to the world.

Citing the rapidly rising number of Covid-19 cases in India, the former Union Minister said many more cases were unreported. "There are many reports which have not been prepared properly. These included reports on the actual death rate or the number of positive cases. So, we want to ask the government which statement should be taken seriously," he said.

Slamming the Delhi government over the mismatch in Covid-19 death toll, he said, "The Delhi government needs to ensure transparency in reporting coronavirus cases and deaths."