Congress leaders want the Union government to offer at least ₹5 lakh compensation to each of the families that lost its loved ones to the COVID-19 pandemic. The party welcomed Supreme Court’s criticism of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), of which Prime Minister is the ex officio chairperson, for ‘failing to perform its duty’ to recommend ex gratia for families of those who had lost their loved ones to COVID-19.
Addressing mediapersons in Kalaburagi on July 1, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge and former minister Sharan Prakash Patil said that the apex court had been pulling up the NDA government and reminding it of its duties throughout the health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Patil said, “It is an abdication of responsibility on the part of the Union government to refuse to pay compensation to the kith and kin of COVID-19 victims. It was because of the government's failure to provide hospital beds, oxygen, ventilators and the required medicines that caused the deaths. The government should have taken the responsibility and paid compensation. It is shameful on the part of the government to refuse to hand over compensation. If the apex court had not intervened, we would have not been provided oxygen, hospital beds and vaccines. I thank the court for its active intervention.”
Obliquely referring to the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, Priyank Kharge slammed the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘spending around ₹20,000 crore for their ambitious project while refusing compensation to COVID-19 victims’ families’.
In response to a question, Mr. Priyank referred to a letter written by Indian Medical Association (IMA) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the medical body had, in the very first point in the letter, demanded stringent punishment to those who spread misinformation and false claims on remedies for COVID-19.
“BJP leaders claimed that consumption of cow urine would prevent and cure COVID-19. BJP leaders claimed that the performance of homa (invoking consecrated fire) would protect the country from the pandemic. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan endorsed Patanjali’s Divya Coronil tablets for the treatment of COVID-19 without any scientific evidence. As IMA has demanded, these people should first be punished for the misinformation and false claims,” Mr. Priyank said.