Uproar at parliamentary committee meeting over govt's failure to handle Covid-19

Amid uproar at the parliamentary committee meeting, many of the MPs from the Opposition parties including Congress, AITC and DMK have demanded setting up a consortium that can exclusively deal with any possible third wave of the pandemic.

New Delhi: A meeting of the parliamentary committee on home affairs on Monday witnessed chaos with members of the Opposition grilling the government over its failure to handle the second wave of the pandemic. Many of the MPs from the Opposition parties including Congress, AITC and DMK have also demanded setting up a consortium that can exclusively deal with any possible third wave of the pandemic.

"The government officials present in the meeting never said when the third wave will come. There are different opinions and statements coming from different quarters. So, we demanded that there should be a consortium comprising renowned scientists and academicians who can give clarity on the third wave. There is total confusion over the third wave," said a member of the parliamentary committee to ETV Bharat.

The members in the meetings took views of the Ministry of Home Affairs on "Socio-economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic's second wave." Officials from Home, Health, economic affairs as well as industry and labour ministry were present in the meeting. "The government has totally failed in controlling the situation that raised due to the second wave of the pandemic. The government was totally callous. There was a scarcity of oxygen cylinders for almost two months...who will be responsible for this?" the member said.

Many of the members also demanded ensuring the availability of liquid cash flow in the market. "There is a huge unemployment scenario. Prices of commodities are increasing. In this situation how will the government ensure growth in the country's GDP," the member said. Committee chairman Anand Sharma elaborated about the country's economic scenario. "Anand Sharma also asked the officials on the initiatives to be taken to counter fiscal deficit," the member said.

A few members also advocated for giving financial help to the labourers who have lost their job during the pandemic. Many members also raised the issue of the lack of health infrastructure in the country. Members from BJP, however, hailed the government initiative to control Covid-19 as well as the vaccine initiative of the government.