Who is responsible? asks Priyanka as Congress steps up attack on Modi govt over Covid handling

With Uttar Pradesh elections looming on the horizon, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday stepped up attack on the Modi government demanding to fix accountability for the shortages of vaccines, oxygen and hospital beds during the second wave of Covid-19.

Priyanka, who is in charge of Congress in Uttar Pradesh, launched the ‘Zimmedar Kaun’ (who is responsible) campaign on her Facebook page, and said that she would ask questions from the government on its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“How did we come to such a pass? The biggest vaccine manufacturer in the world, the biggest oxygen producer, our doctors are famous the world over. How did we reach a point where our people had to give their lives for lack of beds, oxygen and vaccines,” the Congress leader said.

“It is important to ask these questions as several lives have been lost due to the negligence of the government,” she said.

Congress has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “mishandling” of the response to Covid-19 that has claimed over three lakh lives so far in the country.

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Early next year, elections are due in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur – and the results could set the tone of political discourse for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

“When the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country and people struggled for hospital beds, oxygen, vaccines and medicines, they expected the government to make efforts to save lives... However, the government remained a mute spectator causing immense pain across the country,” she said.

She slammed the Modi government for “irresponsible actions” of “exporting vaccines and oxygen” and delay in placing orders for vaccines in proportion with the country’s population.

“And today, when this wave is ebbing naturally, suddenly the government is reappearing through its media and machinery, again our Prime Minister and his ministers have come forward and started making statements,” Priyanka said.