Congress demands judicial probe into Covid-19 irregularities

Blaming the 'miserable failure' of the Central and the state governments for the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah demanded an inquiry by a judicial commission to bring out irregularities in procuring equipment to handle the pandemic.

Speaking at the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah said that data provided by the Health and Family Welfare Department revealed wide variations in procurement cost of PPE kits, masks, ventilators, and sanitisers. Citing procurement of PPE kits at seven times the market price, Siddaramaiah questioned how could the price increase so much even if there was admitted scarcity.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

The relief package announced by the state government, too, hasn't reached everyone. Moreover, around Rs 60,000-70,000 were spent per day at 34,000 containment zones in Bengaluru, providing room for corruption.

"A judicial inquiry is essential on all these irregularities pertaining to Covid-19 procurement and relief," he said, adding that it would help fix responsibility on errant parties.

"Anybody can presume that there are irregularities (due to variation in prices)," Siddaramaiah said, adding that even Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had failed to provide data on Covid procurement after he promised to do so in 24 hours. "I had written to the CM on various issues related to Covid-19 and information was not provided for even a single query," he said.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on September 22

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar, in an animated speech, said the government did not come to the rescue of farmers and auto/taxi drivers. "If you give the aid 5-6 months later, the person will be dead by then. It's just Rs 5,000! You announced the aid during a crisis. If the money doesn't reach them during that crisis, then what's the point?" he said.