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Mahua Moitra's jibe at Centre over Covid deaths in India: ‘56 inches can’t mask 56 lakhs’
The Trinamool Congress reacted to a report by The New York Times that claimed that the Indian government was stalling the efforts by the WHO to publish its estimate on excess Covid-19 deaths.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday took a dig at the Narendra Modi-led government for allegedly "lying and stalling data" on the total deaths due to Covid-19, claiming that "56 inches can’t mask 56 lakhs". Modi's “chhappan inch ki chhati (56-inch chest)” jibe at Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls had become a big punch line for the BJP.
Moitra reacted to a report by The New York Times that claimed that the Indian government was stalling the efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish its estimate on excess Covid-19 deaths.
"Lying and stalling data publication doesn’t make truth go away. India official Covid death is 5.2 lakhs- WHO estimate is 8 times this figure. Let’s face facts & learn from them. 56 inches can’t mask 56 lakhs," she tweeted.
India, however, has questioned the WHO methodology to estimate coronavirus mortalities in the country, saying using such a mathematical modelling cannot be applied to estimate the death figures for such a vast nation of geographical size and population. The Union health ministry issued a statement in response to the article titled 'India Is Stalling WHO's Efforts to Make Global Covid Death Toll Public' dated April 16, saying the country has on several occasions shared its concerns with the global health body over the methodology used.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also claimed that 40 lakh Indians died during the pandemic due to the government's "negligence" and once again demanded that all families of the deceased be given ₹four lakh compensation each.
"Modi ji neither speaks the truth, nor lets others speak. He still lies that no one died due to oxygen shortage!" Gandhi charged in a tweet in Hindi along with the screenshot of the report.
"I had said earlier also – due to the negligence of the government during Covid, not five lakh, but 40 lakh Indians died," the former Congress chief said.
"Fulfil your responsibility, Modi ji – give compensation of ₹four lakh to every (Covid) victim's family," Gandhi said.
