BJP on Tuesday was left red-faced after one of its senior leaders and minister in Uttar Pradesh attacked his own government over the 'worsening' Covid-19 situation in the state and its failure to provide medical facilities to those infected with the virus.
UP Law Minister Brijesh Pathak, in a letter to the principal secretary, health, said that the situation in the state capital of Lucknow was 'worrisome' and needed urgent attention of the government.
''There are no beds in the hospitals....the patients are neither getting ambulances on time nor are they receiving treatment,'' Pathak said in a hard-hitting letter, which has gone viral on social media.
He said that he had spoken to the chief medical officer (CMO) of Lucknow to send an ambulance for Padmashree awardee and Avadh historian Yogesh Praveen, who had developed complications after being infected, but it was not sent. Praveen, who was in his 80s, died later.
Pathak said in his letter that even the results of the RT-PCR tests were being provided to the patients after four to seven days. The minister warned that a total lockdown might have to be imposed in Lucknow if the situation did not improve in the next few days.
The opposition parties latched on to the minister's remarks and attacked the Yogi Adityanath government for failing to provide the required medical facilities to the infected patients.
''The letter by the minister proves that this government has failed to deal with the situation,'' UP Congress president Ajai Kumar Lallu said. Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav also cornered the government and said that it was busy making false claims on the development of the state.
UP reported over 18,000 Covid-positive cases on Tuesday with Lucknow alone accounting for more than five thousand.