E-Paper
Kerala BJP, CPI(M) engage in a war of words as Covid cases continue to soar
The BJP said the state’s “unmindful relaxation” during Eid-Al-Adha last week led to the spike in cases, but the CPI(M) said the union government’s “poor vaccine distribution policy” led to the current situation
As Kerala continues to record almost half of the daily Covid-19 cases in the country, and the Union government sends a team of experts to the state to understand what’s going wrong, a war of words has broken out between the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP said the state’s “unmindful relaxation” during Eid-Al-Adha last week led to the spike in cases, but the CPI(M) said the union government’s “poor vaccine distribution policy” led to the current situation.
“50% of the Covid positive cases come from Kerala, thanks to Eid relaxations. But as expected the narrative would always be built around kumbh or Kanwar yatra. Hmmm... Kerala model,” tweeted BJP spokesman Sambit Patra.
BJP leader Amit Malviya also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government, pointing to the Muslim-majority Malappuram district recording the highest number of cases to buttress his point on Eid.
For the last two days, the state has been reporting over 20,000 daily cases, after a gap of two months.
The CPI(M), however, criticised the BJP for making the issue communal, saying the virus has no religion or caste. “Kerala has lowest seroprevalence rate. People here are more vulnerable to infection. The present policy of vaccine distribution punishes the state that protected larger portion of people from infection, Provide more vaccine to Kerala than free advice,” tweeted former finance minister Thomas Issac.
Issac said the country will have to pay a heavy price for “Modi’s vaccine folly” and the state is proud of its record. A BJP delegation from the state, which is currently camping in the national Capital, alleged that local CPI(M) leaders were controlling the vaccination drive in several areas, and they “behave as if the state government procured it for a price”.
A team sent by the Union government visited the state in the first week of July too. The union health secretary has written to the state again, indicating that it should give equal preference to containment measures and treatment. Several experts have also asked the state to move from containment to mitigation measures and redraw its present strategies.
The state reported 22,056 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the second consecutive day it recorded over 20,000 cases, at a test positivity rate (TPR) of 11.2%, according to the health department’s daily bulletin. It also reported 131 deaths in last 24 hours, taking the toll to 16,457. On Tuesday, it accounted for nearly 50% of total caseload on the day in the country (22,129 out of 42,498 cases) and its average test positivity rate (TPR) at 12.35% was almost four times the national average of 3%.
