The Opposition on Wednesday alleged that the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of Covid pandemic situation was delayed because of the “Namaste Trump” event and to bring down the elected Government in Madhya Pradesh.
Participating in the first ever discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Covid-19 situation, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said that the Government deliberately delayed the lockdown and the reason was Donald Trump.
“Was the lockdown announcement delayed because of US President Donald Trump’s February visit? The delay was because of Donald Trump. You had a gala event planned,” Siva said.
US President Donald Trump made a two-day State visit to India beginning February 23. The events planned for his trip included a massive “Namaste Trump” rally in Ahmedabad.
Responding to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s statement, the Opposition was of the view that the lockdown was unplanned and the people suffered as a result.
Congress leader Anand Sharma initiated the discussion on the statement of Health Minister and targeted the Government over the “sudden lockdown”. He said the Government is claiming it prevented nearly 14 to 29 lakh Covid-19 infections and now the Centre is saying it does not have the data for migrant labourers.
Sharma sought to know from the Health Minister if the Government made any preparation before announcing the lockdown from 25 March.
“Yesterday, the Health Minister said that this decision (lockdown) could prevent approximately 14 to 29 lakh Covid-19 cases and 37,000-78,000 deaths. This House must be informed what is the scientific basis of this and how we have reached this conclusion,” Sharma said. He said that there was a very wide gap.
Sharma also questioned why the Government has no data on the migrant workers. He highlighted that had facilities like quarantine centres been in place in the cities for the migrant workers, their reverse migration could have been restricted and the pandemic could have been contained from spreading to the rural areas.
While CPI-M MP E Kareem alleged that the “lockdown was only announced when the government was toppled in Madhya Pradesh.
Kareem was referring to the late-March shift in Government in Madhya Pradesh that followed a rebellion mounted by Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyalists against the erstwhile Congress administration.
While RJD MP Manoj Jha said the programme has cost the country dearly, and “later the Government thought that the lockdown was the cure”, JD(U) MP RCP Singh said the ‘migrant’ word should be scrapped as “how a citizen of the country can be a migrant in another State.
This was in reaction to Minister of State for Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar statement that ‘no such data is maintained’ by the Government, in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had set aside two hours for a discussion on coronavirus, but extended it to four hours at the instance of the Opposition. While a two-hour discussion took place Wednesday, another two hours is slotted for Thursday. The Centre will then reply.
Nominated MP Swapan Dasgupta too sought a “clarification from the Government on the statistical robustness of the figures”. “Is there a science behind it?”
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien referred to the Government’s claims about having held video conferences with States in the run-up to the lockdown. “We want to know how many were held before 25 March,” he said.
Prasanna Acharya of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said all State Governments are reeling under an economic crisis, but the Central Government is “not coming forward to assist them”. “What is the assistance from the Centre to deal with Covid apart from issuing advisories and circulars?”
K Keshava Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) made a similar claim, also referring to the ongoing row between some States and the Central Government over GST compensation dues. “You owe us Rs 800 crore. You are not talking about it… The states are aware of their responsibility. Mere video conferencing will not help.”
The Modi Government had told the Rajya Sabha earlier this week that it allocated a sum of Rs 4,230.78 crore to States and Union Territories to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a written response to a series of questions asked by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva from Tamil Nadu related to Covid-19 fund allocation, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said on Tuesday the money was rolled out in two phases between March and August.
