The minister, who inaugurated a daylong virtual executive committee meeting of the Delhi BJP here, said at a time when there were ''neither medicines nor a better healthcare system'', Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his resolve of ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat'' (self-reliant India), made arrangements to deal with the pandemic. 

''India, which did not have PPE kits, masks or medicines, is in the number one position in the world now in every field. Besides health products, the government ensured sufficient production of vaccines in the country,'' he said. 

''Whatever progress we have made, it is our duty to tell people about this development journey. We have to say with pride what we have achieved and expose the false claims and doubts created by the Opposition,'' Thakur added. 

Be it improving the healthcare system, increasing the oxygen supply or the bed capacity in hospitals on a war-footing, the government ''controlled the epidemic to a great extent'', he noted. 

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi and said it was a ''double whammy'' for Delhiites, who on one hand were grappling with the pandemic and on the other, an ''indifferent (Arvind) Kejriwal government''. 

He accused the AAP and the Kejriwal government of practising ''falsehood'', being ''intoxicated with power'' and indulging in ''corrupt practices''. ''The Kejriwal government was missing from the scene during the pandemic. It was only the workers of our party who were helping the needy under 'Seva hi Sangathan','' Thakur said. 

As part of the party's ''Seva hi Sangathan'' campaign, BJP workers reached out to those affected by Covid and made people aware of vaccination, he added. 

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, who was present at the meeting, also criticised the AAP government for its handling of the pandemic and ''mismanagement'' as regards oxygen and healthcare facilities. 

''The Kejriwal government does everything with political motives. It is based only on advertisements and publicity, and is responsible for criminal negligence,'' he said. 

The meeting was also attended by the BJP's national vice-president and Delhi in-charge Baijayant Jai Panda, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, former Union minister Vijay Goel, MPs Manoj Tiwari, Meenakshi Lekhi and Gautam Gambhir, among others.