Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of hiding the actual figure of deaths due to Covid. He said the BJP government was actually trying to hide its face by doing that.
Yadav’s remarks came a day after a report claimed that the death toll due to COVID-19 in 24 districts of Uttar Pradesh from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 was up to 43 times higher than the official figures.
The findings were based on a comparison of the official death toll in these districts during the nine-month period with the excess deaths registered in the state’s Civil Registration System (CRS). The mortality data was accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application.
In a tweet in Hindi, Yadav said, “According to information accessed through the Right to Information, it has come to light that the death toll in 24 districts of Uttar Pradesh in the nine months of the pandemic till March 31 this year is up to 43 times higher than the government figures. Actually, the BJP government is not hiding the death figures but its face,” he said.
As on Monday, Uttar Pradesh’s Covid death toll stood at 22,224 while the total number of cases was 17,04,476, according to a government bulletin. Yadav said that the BJP government has only scripted misery for the people of UP.
He said there is no end to the sufferings of people as law and order has collapsed while the BJP government is busy promising moon to the people.
He claimed that the BJP is all set to be dislodged from power in the upcoming assembly elections and that the Samajwadi Party would form the next government in UP. The SP chief alleged that the BJP has lost the trust of people and the chief minister’s claims of zero tolerance against corruption have proved hollow.
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati asked the government to make Covid vaccination a public campaign in rural areas and put to an end all the controversies and political disputes.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Mayawati said: “Controversy and politics over the Covid vaccine has led to problems for the people. Now, all-round efforts are necessary to end the controversy and benefit people.”
“There is a need to make the vaccination a public campaign in a vast rural-dominated country like India,” the former UP CM said. Besides, scientists also need proper support and encouragement, she added.