Congress lashes at PM Modi, says he must maintain social distancing in his rallies

Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the PM should also maintain the social distancing in his election rallies. He also said that if the government does not accept the second wave it might turn into a tsunami.

New Delhi: Congress party on Wednesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that being a public representative, he should maintain social distancing norms in his election rallies even when his party "offers" Rs 1,000 coupons to gather the crowd.

Congress also cautioned the central government to re-strategize as the second wave of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across the country.

While addressing a press conference, Congress' national spokesperson Pawan Khera said, "As public figures and public representatives, we have a greater role to play in terms of leading the way forward when we expect people to wear a mask in public gatherings. The PM should also ensure the maintenance of social distancing not just in rallies where people don't come to listen to him but also in valleys where people are given gift coupons to come and listen to him as a reporter and media personnel."

As India's overall count has crossed the 12.8 million mark, cases are rapidly increasing across the country.

Congress mentioned that during the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 on September 17, 2020, India recorded 97,894 cases. But today, with a staggering 1,15,736 new cases, India has surpassed the grim milestone.

"India has surpassed both the USA and Brazil to bag the numero uno position in terms of recording the highest number of positive cases daily. Earlier, 10 COVID-19 infected patients were spreading it to 8 others, now it has increased to 10 infected spreading it to 14," Khera stated.

He further added, "The second wave of COVID-19 is here. The highest spike of COVID-19 cases is alarming, and the width of COVID-19 cases needs to be curtailed now before this wave turns into a tsunami."

He also alleged that there are significant drawbacks in the vaccination protocol as currently, the national average of vaccine wastage stands at 6.5 per cent. The vaccine wastage in Telangana is at 17.6 per cent and Uttar Pradesh is at 9.4 per cent.

In addition to this, he also questioned, "The central government did not find any reason to include respiratory diseases, which are common across the Indian populace, in the list of co-morbidities to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. Why did the government not plan the nuances of the vaccine logistics and supply chain in advance to ensure that there were no shortages of vaccines subsequently?"

Khera alleged that the Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan has been missing in action for almost a month now.

He also said that the government should urgently address concerns of private vaccine manufacturers regarding the paucity of funds.

On the matter of shortage of vaccines, the Congress leader said, "There is dilly-dallying on the vaccine approval and regulatory protocol that has held back many globally accepted and approved safe vaccines from entering the Indian market.

This ensures over-dependency on the limited vaccine, therefore delaying the nationwide vaccination program. The diversification of vaccines based on their globally proven track record must be looked at immediately."

He also urged the government to engage with civil society stakeholders and hold all political meetings so that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic will be done by collaboration and not by the generation of fear and imposition of state-sponsored excesses.

He stated that Congress will stand shoulder to shoulder with the central government in this fight against the pandemic.

"Every single Indian is willing to join hands to fight this pandemic alongside the government. We urge the government to move beyond divisiveness and collaborate against the pandemic as we stand United in this fight," Khera added.