Modi govt busy managing Covid narrative rather than addressing issues: Former bureaucrats in open letter to PM

Over 100 former bureaucrats on Thursday sought to tear into the Narendra Modi government's response to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming that it appeared to be more concerned with "managing the narrative" rather than addressing crucial issues at stake.

The 116 bureaucrats under the ambit of Constitutional Conduct Group signed an open letter to Prime Minister Modi in which they lamented that even "authentic data" on tests, positive cases, and mortality figures among others, have not been publicly disseminated while warning that it would have "serious implications".

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They demanded that the Centre should provide free vaccination, ramp up RT-PCR testing in both rural and urban areas, make adequate funds available to the States for provision of medical facilities and "stop expenditures on non-essential items" like the Central Vista project among others.

"We are aware that this pandemic threatens the entire world and is not going to leave the citizens of India untouched. And yet, what numbs our senses daily is not just the cries of the citizenry for medical assistance and the death toll in its thousands but the manifestly casual attitude of your government to the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for the mental and physical health of the community of Indians," the letter said.

Also read: Govt says it aims to ramp up daily testing capacity for Covid to 45 lakh by June-end

"Your government seems to be more concerned with managing the narrative of 'efficient' management of the Covid crisis rather than addressing the crucial issues at stake," the former bureaucrats, including former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and former Health Secretary K Sujatha Rao, said.

The letter said that the "steady erosion" of the Cabinet system, the worsening federal relationships with the state that are especially governed by the Opposition parties, lack of informed consultation with experts and Parliamentary committees, the failure to take "timely" advice from experts and the absence of effective coordination with the states have had "disastrous consequences".

"Despite warnings from the international community and our own scientists, the breathing space between the first and the second waves was not used to augment critical resources such as medical staff, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, ventilators and drugs and other medical supplies. Even more inexcusably, no advance planning was done to secure adequate stocks of vaccines, despite India being one of the major vaccine suppliers to the world," the former bureaucrats said.

Also read: India sees a worrying dip in daily Covid-19 vaccinations

"The complacency displayed by you and your ministerial colleagues at various forums not only diverted attention from the looming threat but probably also contributed to both state governments and citizens letting down their guard at a crucial juncture. As a result, your Atmanirbhar Bharat is today compelled to seek the help of the outside world to lessen the agony inflicted on its own people by your government," they said.

The letter also found fault with the Centre's reliance on the newly set up PM-CARES that dried up funds for the states and non-payment of GST dues to the states among others. At the same time, the letter said, the government has incurred "unnecessary expenditure" on Central Vista.

The former bureaucrats also were also critical of the election campaigning conducted by the BJP leaders, including Modi, in the recent Assembly elections as well as the Kumbh Mela.