Sonia Gandhi slams govt for failing to deliver essential services amid Covid

Gandhi called for making efforts to organise ambulances, temporary beds, oxygen concentrators and necessary medicines

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday criticised the government for failing to deliver essential services and supplies on adequate scale amid the second Covid-19 wave while calling it imperative for her party to enhance and streamline these efforts.

Sonia Gandhi addresses Congress MPs on Friday. (Photo: Congress)

“The AICC [All India Congress Committee]’s Covid control room is reaching out with a detailed blueprint. Similar Covid relief control rooms have been set up at the State level,” she said in her address to Congress members of Parliament.

Gandhi called for making efforts to organise ambulances, temporary beds, oxygen concentrators and necessary medicines. “In our party, there are many resourceful persons. I urge them to come forward and render whatever help possible through our states’ Relief Control room or on their own.”

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “arrogantly boasted” that he had defeated the pandemic and his party “obediently felicitated him for his so-called success”.

Gandhi said the system has not failed but the government did not channelise the resources constructively to strengthen India. She pointed out that despite ₹35,000 crore allocation for “free vaccine for all”, an inequitable vaccination policy would exclude Dalits, Adivasis, Other Backwards Classes, as well as the poor and the other marginalised groups.

Gandhi said the government instead of helping people was using the state’s power to torment them for seeking help. She alleged it was cracking down on the citizen groups trying to help people.