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Yogi govt hits back after Cong points out discrepancy in UP’s Covid-19 numbers
Uttar Pradesh Congress MLA Aradhna Mishra ‘Mona’ slammed the Bhartiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh over their handling of the Covid-19 crisis and fabricating the death numbers
Uttar Pradesh Congress MLA Aradhna Mishra ‘Mona’ slammed the Bhartiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh over their handling of the Covid-19 crisis and fabricating the death numbers. She asked chief minister Yogi Adityanath to resign, HT has learnt.
While addressing the media on Tuesday, the Congress MLA said “The current UP government has proved to be truly incompetent and have lost their right to govern the state. Morally, the UP chief minister should resign and if they fail to do so, I urge the honourable Governor to dissolve this government.” She further said that the government failed to provide the people of the state with security and a healthy environment.
In her address, she defined the Yogi-led government using ‘3Ds’. “ This government is based on denial, destroying of evidence and data manipulation.” She launched a scathing attack when she said the situation in the state would have been far better if the government paid attention to the crisis instead of trying to hide it. She further accused the government of disrespecting the dead by not allowing their close ones to perform their last rites respectfully.
Mishra pointed out that earlier the Lucknow Municipal Office was responsible for issuing the death certificates, however, now the CMO has taken over. She questioned the reason behind such a move. “I believe this decision has been taken to hide the actual number of Covid-19 deaths in the state” she opined.
In the same virtual address, AICC spokesperson Supriya Srinate brought forward the Covid-19 figures in the state. She revealed that the state’s official death tally shows 2,268 deaths in the state capital. She said, “However, the official figures also show that 7,890 death certificates have been issued in the capital during the 45-days from April 1 to May 15. Additionally, we found that 5,970 death certificates had been issued between February 15 to March 31.” She questioned the discrepancy and accused the UP state government of underreporting the Covid-19 figures.
Aradhna Mishra also pointed out discrepancies in the government’s official numbers. She pointed out that a large number of people have lost their lives at home due to lack of hospital beds, she claimed that this is missing from the official records.
“The number of death certificates issued in a district will always be higher than the total number of confirmed Covid deaths there. Covid is not the only cause of death. Secondly, not all the death certificates issued in a particular period would indicate them as the deaths that have happened in the same time frame. Many times people apply late or wait for a suitable time for obtaining a death certificate. So, such a gap should not be assumed as a discrepancy,” said a senior state government official in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said the death certificates of all Covid-19 patients must clearly mention the coronavirus disease as the cause of the demise and kins must not face any problem in obtaining them. The chief minister said this at the Covid review meeting in Lucknow.
“The district magistrates and chief medical officers (CMOs) across all districts must ensure that kins of any deceased (died of Covid or non-Covid causes) must not face any problem in obtaining death certificates. If the death has happened due to Covid, then the certificate must clearly mention it. If need be, then necessary government order regarding this can also be issued,” he said.
