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Sena blames Centre, EC for surge in Covid-19 cases
The Sena said the Covid situation would have been brought under control had the Centre reduced the “political dose” and focussed on the fight against the pandemic.
Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena on Saturday slammed the Centre for ignoring the second Covid-19 wave while blaming it and the Election Commission (EC) for the surge in infections.
In an editorial in its mouthpiece Samaana, it said the Covid situation would have been brought under control had the Centre reduced the “political dose” and focussed on the fight against the pandemic.
“The Centre is not ready to tackle the corona emergency properly... China was held responsible for the first wave of coronavirus... Election Commission and Centre are responsible for the current wave. Covid spread 500 times faster from the states where elections were held or are underway... For elections and political selfishness, the rulers of Delhi created a wave of the pandemic by not tackling Covid,” the editorial said.
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The Sena blamed election rallies in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the surge in Covid-19 cases. It also said that the coronavirus transmission also gained pace due to the Kumbh Mela.
“The vehemence of Covid continues, but the election rallies and Kumbh Mela are not being stopped. Millions of devotees congregated at Kumbh; they took a dip in the Ganga and that has led to the transmission of coronavirus across the country. Prime minister [Narendra Modi] is not ready to stop the election mela in West Bengal. Then why should the saints and seers be blamed for Kumbh?” the editorial asked.
“Had the Centre reduced the political dose and kept the focus on controlling the spread of coronavirus, the situation would not have gone out of hand.”
The editorial asked the Centre to keep its “ego and political gains aside” to tackle the second wave. It added it is not a result of any state’s failure but that of “the carelessness of the Centre”.
There was no immediate response to the editorial.
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