State govt failed to conduct screening, testing of people entering HP: Cong

“As per the information, out of 70 lakh people in the state, only 7,000 have been tested, which is only 0.1% of the total population,” the state Congress chief said.

Expressing concern over the two fresh cases of coronavirus in the state, Himachal Pradesh Congress president Kuldeep Rathore on Tuesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government claiming that it is not conducting proper screening and scanning of the people who are returning to Himachal from other states.

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While addressing a press conference here, Rathore questioned the data presented by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur to Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video-conferencing last week. “If collecting information by sending Asha and Anganwadi workers to every household is screening, then it is a very surprising claim by him,” he said.

“As per the information, out of 70 lakh people in the state, only 7,000 have been tested, which is only 0.1% of the total population,” the state Congress chief said, adding that the state does not has enough number of testing kits then how can the state government claim Himachal is corona-free.

Accusing Jai Ram of misguiding the state residents, Rathore said that we are worried about the Covid-19 spread in the state. “We need a basic structure to fight the virus,” he said.

Hitting out at the central government, Rathore said that the Centre can make arrangements for evacuating around 15 lakhs non-resident Indians (NRIs) from different countries but it cannot make arrangements to send poor people and labourers, who are stranded within the country, home. None of the NRIs were screened or tested, he claimed.

He also demanded the Centre to issue white papers of the PM-Cares Fund.