Oxygen deaths: Venugopal notice for privilege motion against MoS Pravin Pawar

Days after the government informed Rajya Sabha that no death due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported by the states and Union territories, Congress MP K C Venugopal on Thursday gave a notice for moving a breach of privilege motion against Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar for misleading the House.

The minister’s reply had come on a written question asked by Venugopal.

The minister’s reply, Venugopal said in his breach of privilege notice, is “not only wrong but it was made deliberately to mislead the House regarding the actual number of deaths caused due to the acute shortage of oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country”.

Venugopal in his notice mentioned six media reports which spoke of oxygen shortage in Delhi, Goa, Haryana and Karnataka and argued that the minister’s reply “was a deliberate distortion of facts by the minister as… reports in the public domain would testify the truth otherwise”.

“It is clear that the minister deliberately made a statement so that she could cover the failure of the government in managing the pandemic. The statement was furnished wilfully with the intention to mislead and deceive the august House. This amounts to breach of privilege and contempt of the House and the minister is guilty of contempt,” Venugopal said.