New Delhi: Mahua Moitra, a leader of the Trinamool Congress, slammed the Narendra Modi government on Sunday for allegedly “lying and blocking data” on the overall number of deaths caused by Covid-19, alleging that “56 inches can’t hide 56 lakhs.” During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi’s remark about Mulayam Singh Yadav’s “chhappan inch ki chhati (56-inch chest)” became a big laugh for the BJP.
Moitra reacted to a report by The New York Times that claimed that the Indian government was stalling the efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish its estimate on excess Covid-19 deaths.
Moitra reacted to a report by The New York Times that claimed that the Indian government was stalling the efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish its estimate on excess Covid-19 deaths.
India, on the other hand, has questioned the WHO approach for estimating coronavirus mortalities in the country, claiming that such mathematical modeling cannot be used to estimate death figures for such a large and populous country. In reaction to the April 16 report headed “India Is Stalling WHO’s Efforts to Make Global Covid Death Toll Public,” the Union health ministry released a statement saying the government had raised issues with the global health organization on multiple occasions about the methodology utilized.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also claimed that 40 lakh Indians died during the pandemic due to the government’s “negligence” and once again demanded that all families of the deceased be given тВ╣four lakh compensation each.
“Modi ji neither speaks the truth, nor lets others speak. He still lies that no one died due to oxygen shortage!” Gandhi charged in a tweet in Hindi along with the screenshot of the report.
“I had said earlier also тАУ due to the negligence of the government during Covid, not five lakh, but 40 lakh Indians died,” the former Congress chief said.
“Fulfil your responsibility, Modi ji тАУ give compensation of тВ╣four lakh to every (Covid) victim’s family,” Gandhi said.
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