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Cong leader Sudhir Sharma accuses Centre of hiding the extent of Covid-19 spread
The AICC secretary said the Centre was misinforming the public by denying community spread
All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and former Himachal minister Sudhir Sharma on Saturday accused the Centre of misleading the public about the extent of Covid-19 spread.
Sharma alleged that the Centre has been continuously denying that community spread had begun:“The number of cases indicates the contrary. The government is peddling false hope to the public, ” Sharma said.
“With around 1, 74,000 cases and around 4,900 deaths in the country, it is inconceivable that there is no community spread,” he said, adding that it was better to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
The Congress leader asked if the Union government had a blueprint ready for tackling Covid-19 once the lockdown ends.
He said as per experts, both from India and abroad, the number of cases were rapidly increasing and could be expected to peak in July, which means that the curve was likely to extend till September.
“And there is the possibility of a second wave in the winter,” he said.
“As per these experts, at some point in early July (if not earlier) our health infrastructure will completely breakdown, which in simple terms mean hospitals in many places and cities will run out of beds to treat Covid-19 patients,” Sharma said.
Sharma said the four lockdowns, which lasted 69 days, failed to combat the onslaught of the deadly virus.
He warned that no vaccines will be available till early next year:“If we are not prepared, we may lose this battle against the virus,” he said.
EXTEND MGNREGA TO HARVESTING
He demanded that MGNREGA be extended harvesting and other agricultural activities.
This will serve dual purpose—those who are out of jobs will get work and the farmers who are struggling to find labour for harvesting will get help.
“The Union government should work on a national program that provides ration to every citizen with or without a ration card, for at least six months, which is easily achievable given our ample stock of food grains,” Sharma said.
The Centre should prioritise activities that will allow the economy to recover. Allow freedom of movement for work including public transport but ban mass religious, social and cultural gatherings for the next few months, he said.
“We know that the virus spreads with or without a lockdown. But we cannot fight the Covid-19 virus on an empty stomach,” he said.
