House panel to submit report on govt’s Covid management

This will be the second House committee report related to the pandemic. Last month, the health had placed a report that focused on the functioning of the health ministry and related agencies to tackle the pandemic

Parliament’s committee on home affairs is set to submit a report on the management of the Covid-19 pandemic—an issue that has sparked major political debates with the Opposition accusing the Narendra Modi government of mismanagement.

The House panel is led by Congress leader Anand Sharma. (Mohd Zakir/HT archive)

The House panel on home affairs, led by Congress veteran Anand Sharma, has called a meeting on Friday to consider and adopt the report on “The Management of Covid-19 Pandemic and Related Issues”. But before that, the panel will hear the views of the governments of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, two of the worst affected states.

This will be the second House committee report related to the pandemic that played havoc with the Indian economy and lives of millions of Indians. Last month, the health committee had placed a report that focused on the functioning of the health ministry and related agencies to tackle the pandemic.

The House panel is expected to take a wider view of the issue and look into the roles of the disaster management authority, lockdowns, problems of the migrant workers in the early days of the pandemic, the Centre and state cooperation and the efficacy of the guidelines the home secretary issued from time to time.