Now a member of the state’s BJP working committee criticizes UP’s handling of COVID-19

Balia:

Criticizing the handling of the COVID-19 crisis in Uttar Pradesh, a ruling party leader claimed that at least 10 people died in each village during the second wave as no lessons were learned from the first one.

BJP state working committee member Ram Iqbal Singh, who made the remarks on Saturday, is the latest party leader to question the handling of the coronavirus infection in the state.

Speaking to reporters, Singh regretted that the health ministry had learned nothing from the first wave of COVID-19 which resulted in a large number of deaths from the disease in the second wave.

“At least 10 people have died in every village in the state during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

The head of the BJP also demanded that Rs 10 lakh be returned to the families of those who succumbed to the infection.

He lamented that after 75 years of freedom, this district with a population of 34 lakh, has neither doctors nor drugs.

When reminded that during his visit to Ballia, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements made by the Ministry of Health, Mr Singh said officials misled the CM and that the truth had not been revealed.

He also urged the BJP government to provide a diesel subsidy to farmers.

Earlier in May, BJP Sitapur MP Rakesh Rathore joined the roster of lawmakers in the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, expressing resentment over the alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 in the state and saying that he feared an accusation of sedition for speaking.

“What position do the deputies have? If we talk too much, charges of treason and sedition will also be made against us,” Rakesh Rathore told reporters, according to a video clip.

On May 9, Union Labor Minister Santosh Gangwar complained to the chief minister about the situation in his Bareilly constituency, saying officials were not taking calls and government health centers were dismissing patients for “referrals” from the district hospital.

In a letter to CM Adityanath, he also complained about the “great shortage” of empty oxygen cylinders and the high prices of medical equipment in Bareilly.

A day later, BJP MP for Jasrana in Firozabad Ramgopal Lodhi claimed his coronavirus-positive wife had not been admitted to a hospital in Agra for more than three hours, officials saying the beds were not available.

In April, a “confidential” letter written by UP Justice Minister Brajesh Pathak surfaced on social media. Mr Pathak had lashed out at his state’s health authorities, complaining that beds for coronavirus patients were insufficient and ambulances were taking hours to arrive in the state capital.

(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)