Center should accept some suggestions of Opposition: Kharge

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Congress' Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said that Modi-led central government should accept some suggestions of Opposition in order to tackle the alarming COVID-19 situation in the country.

New Delhi:As citizens are grappling with the second wave of coronavirus in the country, many states' governments are imposing restrictions once again to curb the spread.

However, Congress has been repeatedly alleging that the central government is "ignoring" the suggestions given to it to tackle COVID-19 in the country, forcing the states to reinforce strict measures.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Congress' Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "This is a very tough situation which we all should tackle together. But unfortunately, the central government is not taking others into confidence. Whenever it wants it declares lockdown, whenever it wants it exports COVID vaccines."

He further added, "Recently, Jaishankar has said that India will continue to supply vaccines to 80 countries. When you don't have sufficient vaccines here, why do you want to export them? Only 1 per cent of our population has got vaccinated. But we are not caring for it. Therefore, whatever good thing has been said by the Opposition, the Center should accept it. They should not do politics over it."

On Tuesday, Maharashtra Government enforced a mini-lockdown in the state by imposing section 144 for the next 15 days.

However, Public transport and essential services will remain open. The state government also announced to spend Rs 5,400 crore to support the people of the state during the statewide curfew.

While Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala praised the Maharastra government for deciding to provide financial help to the poor people during the lockdown, he also took a dig at Narendra Modi-led Union Government asking it to "learn something" from the state government and give money in the hands of poor people to support them during this crisis.

However, when Kharge was being asked if he is in support of lockdown, he replied, "No, it is not a solution. It is for those who have money and can do anything. What about the poor people, unorganized workers and even organized workers whose factories have got closed? So, it would be very difficult for them to survive so saving livelihoods is equally important."

Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also written a letter to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank asking to cancel the CBSE board exams in light of the spike in COVID-19 cases to ensure the safety of students in crowded exam centres.

On Wednesday, CBSE announced that the exams for class 10 have been cancelled, while class 12 exams have been postponed. The exams were scheduled to be held from May 4.