Delhi Congress president Chaudhary Anil Kumar hit out at the Delhi Government for its alleged failure in handling the coronavirus outbreak in the national capital, saying that the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases shows that Delhi Chief Minister and his Ministers have been making false claims of being prepared to tackle the pandemic.
“The Delhi Government had reduced Covid testing by 40 per cent after 14 November and the people of Delhi are paying a heavy price for the arbitrary methods and inefficiency of the Arvind Government. The Government has totally failed not only in checking the Covid spread but also in pollution control and a deadly cocktail of these two are taking a heavy toll on people's lives and health in the Capital,” he said.
Addressing the media, Kumar said that four people are dying every hour in Delhi and in November alone up to now, 1200 people had died of Covid-19 with the total tally jumping to 7,713 deaths. He said that between 1 and 16 November, 2020 there has been a 63 per cent increase in the Covid death rate, which could have been easily prevented, had the Arvind Government listened to the suggestions and advice by the Delhi Congress, instead of acting in a hasty and whimsical manner.
The Congress leader further said that Chief Minister Arvind should come out of his petty political mindset to address the Covid crisis on a war footing to save the lives and health of the people, who are being made to pay a heavy price for the unplanned and unprepared Covid-19 lock and unlock process, which had not only ruined the health, but also the wealth of the people of Delhi.
“There is total confusion within the ministers as CM today said that he sent a proposal to the Union Home Ministry seeking power to impose lockdown while his Health Minister had said yesterday that there will be no lockdown,” he said.
Kumar suggested that the Arvind Government should make immediate arrangements to increase testing to two lakh per day, mostly RT-PCR, and the testing fee should be reduced from the present Rs 2400 to an affordable level by the common people. He said that Covid-19 pandemic guidelines like social distancing, wearing of masks should be strictly implemented in public transport and public places and if needed, school buses should be pressed into service as public transport.