The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday saw a heated debate on COVID-19, with the Opposition accusing the State government of not only being cavalier in handling the pandemic, but also indulging in misappropriation of funds.
The Congress stepped up its demand for a judicial probe into the alleged misappropriation during the purchase of equipment since March.
Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said the government had siphoned off public money in the purchase of ventilators, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, masks, sanitisers, and thermal scanners by buying them for more than the market rate. Noting “glaring differences” in the prices of PPE kits, he said the price ranged from ₹330 per kit in March to ₹2,117 per kit in April, a seven-fold increase. Similarly, ventilator price ranged from ₹10.3 lakh to ₹18.2 lakh per unit. The Centre had purchased ventilators at ₹4 lakh, he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had written 20 letters on the issue to the Chief Minister but there had been no response.
The number of cases in the State increased from 37 on March 29 to 5,26,876 on September 21, and the number of deaths from one to 8,145 during the same period, he pointed out. India will soon displace the U.S. at number one in COVID-19 cases, he said. The Congress leader said laxity on part of the government in making preparations to handle cases during the lockdown had resulted in the increase in cases and toll.
He also said the State government had not taken the Opposition into confidence and the ₹2,100-crore package announced by the Chief Minister had not reached those in need. H.K. Patil, of the Congress, claimed the government was hiding the true number of COVID-19 deaths.
D.K. Shivakumar said BJP legislators and Ministers had distributed food kits to the poor by printing the party’s symbol on the bags, but no action had been taken against the legislators and party workers.
Financial assistance
Later in the day, Opposition legislators urged the government to extend financial assistance to patients from poor families for undergoing treatment. Many poor patients were opting for private hospitals as it was not possible to get beds in government hospitals quickly, but private hospitals were charging exorbitant rates, they alleged.
Several MLAs, including H.D. Revanna, K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, Bandeppa Kashempur, and U.T. Khader, expressed concern that farmers were selling parts of their land to pay hospital bills.
Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar clarified that while the treatment was completely free at government hospitals, the rates for private hospitals had been prescribed by the government. He made it clear that the government would bear the medical expenses of patients who get admitted to private hospitals through the government authorities. The legislators, however, alleged that private hospitals were not abiding by the government norms.
The legislators also appealed to the government to ensure that family members of COVID-19 victims are allowed to conduct the last rites of the dead. They also suggested that the government provide additional PPE kits to facilitate this.
Speaker’s direction
Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri told members to speak in the House while wearing their masks. The Speaker made this statement when Mr. Shivakumar began speaking after removing his mask.
The Assembly Secretariat has given yellow tags for all members and journalists who have tested negative for COVID-19 for easy identification. The members were found wearing these tags in the House on Tuesday.
The Speaker said COVID-19 testing was conducted on 2,145 officials, policemen, and journalists during the last three days, and 110 tested positive.