'Take govt to court': Opposition's war cry after Centre says no death due to oxygen shortage

Centre's claim in Parliament that nobody died of oxygen shortage has kicked off a huge political row

Centre's claim in Parliament that nobody died of oxygen shortage kicked off a huge political row with the Opposition accusing the government of "rubbing salt into the wounds of those who have lost their loved ones" and asking people to "take the government to court".

Tagging a report of the Centre for Global Development on three new estimates of India's All-Cause Excess Mortality during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Rahul Gandhi tweeted "The Truth. GOI’s wrong decisions during Covid second wave killed 50 lakh of our sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers."

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit back alleging that the fatalities happened because "the government increased oxygen exports by 700 per cent in the pandemic year, did not arrange tankers to transport it, ignored the advice the empowered group and the Parliamentary Committee and made no arrangement to ensure oxygen supply and showed alertness in setting up oxygen plants in hospitals."

The reactions on Wednesday came after Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, said, "Accordingly, all states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by states and UTs".

Also read: People whose kin died due to oxygen shortage should take Centre to court: Sanjay Raut

While in the House, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal accused the minister of having "misled" the house and threatened to a privilege motion against the minister, political parties--Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP, AAP, CPI-M and others ratcheted up the row asking people to take the government to court.

Referring to a news report about the death of 195 persons due to lack of oxygen, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury said, " The govt's untruthfulness in Parliament stands completely exposed. Such naked denial of truth is unprecedented. Parliament should hold the government accountable for 'breach of Parliamentary privilege'."

AAP-ruled Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain, said, "It is completely false and wrong to say that no one died due to oxygen shortage... The Centre is rubbing salt into the wounds of those who have lost their loved ones… Tomorrow, they will say there have been no deaths due to Covid-19."

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "We all saw what happened in April-May. Media has reported on it, and I was getting messages from officials at hospitals and people requesting for help, complaining about lack of oxygen..... But, now the central government has shamelessly lied in Parliament."

“The central government is repeatedly lying by saying that states have not given them any figures. But, when you will not allow the states to investigate the deaths due to lack of oxygen, where will the figures come from," Sisodiya asked.

Read more: Completely false to say no one died due to oxygen shortage: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain

While Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said people whose relatives died due to oxygen shortage during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic should "take the Union government to court", the Health Minister of MVA government (of Opposition alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena and the NCP) Rajesh Tope in Maharashtra said the state never reported any death due to a shortage of oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19.

Independent MLA and convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch Jignesh Mevani said, "..Every Indian must remember how this government lies through its teeth. Every Indian who lost a loved one due to lack of oxygen, every Indian who was frantically raising SOS on Twitter & verifying leads.... remember this.."