Karnataka Congress delegation meets CM, submits list of demands to tackle Covid-19

Congress said that there was a shortage of masks, glues, sanitizers, PPE kits required by doctors, nurses and other para-medical staff.

A delegation of senior Congress leaders met Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and presented a memorandum containing a list of suggestions and demands to tackle the Covid-19 crisis in the state. The delegation of the main opposition party included, leader of opposition in the assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shiva Kumar apart from several former ministers like R V Deshpande, Ramesh Kumar, G Parameshwara, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Ramalinga Reddy, Ajay Dharam Singh and other senior leaders.

Instead of the mere 152 tests done per million of population, the Congress delegation said the state should do at least 10,000 per million population according to WHO standards. (Image used for representation). (PTI PHOTO.)

Congress said that there was a shortage of masks, glues, sanitizers, PPE kits required by doctors, nurses and other para-medical staff. The delegation members said that while the state required 12 lakh kits a mere 2.27 lakh was available, similarly only 5.46 lakh N-95 masks were available as was Hydroxychloroquine tablets of which only 2.8 lakh were available.

Instead of the mere 152 tests done per million of population, the Congress delegation said the state should do at least 10,000 per million population according to WHO standards.

Asking the state government to urge the Centre to declare this as a ‘national calamity,’ the opposition party leaders claimed that salaries have not been disbursed to the doctors, nurses, para-medical staff and ASHA workers. It also asked that insurance and other social security benefits given only to doctors should be extended to others.

Stating that private hospitals and clinics were not functioning, Congress said this was inconveniencing non-Covid-19 patients and urged the government to ensure that they remain open. Accusing the government of not doing enough to aid the farmers, it urged that the losses suffered by them must be made good from the national calamity fund.

Congress leaders also said that there was wide-spread discrimination in distribution of grants and reliefs by the government and asked that all legislators be treated on an equal footing. It also said ruling party members were taking credit for distribution of aid from the government by pasting their pictures on relief material.

The delegation also asked the state government to help migrant labourers and said MNREGA should be effectively leveraged. Congress said that ruling party members were accusing a particular community of spreading the virus which it said was reprehensible. KPCC President D K Shivakumar said inspite of a BJP government in the state the Centre was meting out step-motherly treatment in providing flood relief, share of GST taxes and aid to fight coronavirus. It demanded that the CM lead an all-party delegation to Delhi to persuade the Central government to set right the injustice which it said was being meted out to Karnataka.

The Chief Minister who gave a patient hearing to the opposition leaders said that he would look at the suggestions given in the memorandum.

Meanwhile, the state recorded six new Covid-19 positive cases even as two more people died due to the virus. Till date, Karnataka has had 390 confirmed Covid-19 positive cases which include 16 deaths and 11 discharges.