Karnataka govt has utterly failed to handle Covid, says DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Tearing into the government over its handling of the Covid-19 epidemic, KPCC President D K Shivakumar said the collective might of the government has failed to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control after 13 months. It is a matter of life and death for the people, and the situation is going out of control. What kind of government are you running, he asked the BJP. 

Till the pandemic blows over, those affected in the state should be given free healthcare, he said. “While the Chief Minister is himself indisposed and in hospital, I pray that he comes out safely soon.” Opposing the idea of a lockdown as a control measure, Shivakumar said, “We are opposed to a general lockdown because the livelihood of people would be affected, the government needs to support people during the pandemic by providing for them. Who really benefited from the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus?” 

As an opposition, the Congress has cooperated with the government on all counts, not questioning the frequent change in officials and ministers, he said.  Counting off the many private hospitals and thousands of ambulances, he said the government had used party halls and hotels as makeshift hospitals, yet people are not getting beds. Karnataka is a state with one of the highest number of hospitals, and the finest medical and healthcare workers, yet there is a shortage. He demanded that the black marketing of the Remdesivir injection be checked. 

The Congress leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that India would win the war against Covid in 21 days, but it is more than a year, and the government has failed to control it.  On the issue of the transport workers’ strike, he asked why the government cannot hold talks with transport workers. Whether they are right or wrong, they must be called and the issue resolved through dialogue.

People have been put a lot of hardship and are spending from their own pockets to travel, Shivakumar said.  On the upcoming Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections due in May, he said the present term of the rural bodies should be extended by six months, and the government should hold elections after the pandemic, considering it is a medical emergency.