Covid death certificates should have PM photo too: NCP’s swipe over vaccine doc

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik's remark comes on a day when India reported over 200,000 Covid-19 cases for the third day in a row.

Amid the soaring cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country, Maharashtra’s minority affairs minister Nawab Malik on Saturday took potshots at the government over the vaccination document given to those who take the jab. "The way PM Modi's photo is put on vaccination certificates, we demand that PM's photo should be put on death certificates also,” he told news agency ANI.

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik (HT File Photo)

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Pointing to the rising number of fatalities due to coronavirus and reports of crematoriums and burial grounds struggling to dispose of bodies with limited resources and staff, Nawab Malik said, “The way videos are going viral that funeral sites are running out of space to accommodate the dead, and people are in queues... The Centre is answerable for the present situation arisen due to the circumstances and it cannot run away from answering it," according to ANI.

The minister’s remark comes on a day when India reported over 200,000 Covid-19 cases for the third day in a row and the toll from the viral disease too remained above 1,000. The country’s total caseload due to the second wave of infections has surged past 14.5 million and 175,649 fatalities have been recorded so far.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state, which alone recorded a spike of 63,729 Covid-19 cases, the highest one-day jump, and the daily toll neared 400 on Friday. Earlier in the day, Nawab Malik said that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request more oxygen supply in the state for Covid-19 patients. He, however, was told that Modi was on a visit to poll-bound West Bengal, Nawab Malik said.

While railways minister accused Uddhav Thackeray of "petty politics", Union health minister Harsh Vardhan updated on Twitter that he has had a word with the Maharashtra chief minister and assured all possible support. “Spoke to #Maharashtra CM Sh Uddhav Thackeray Ji. Reassured @OfficeofUT of adequate & uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen & all possible support w.r.t healthcare infra, medicines & therapeutics. Additional 1,121 ventilators are also being rushed to them given the surge in cases," the minister wrote on the microblogging site.