Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slams Uttar Pradesh government over Covid-19 handling

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over its handling of the Covid-19 crisis, saying that at a time when there is "explosive" growth in cases, its "no test is equal to no corona" policy can lead to a "frightening situation".

In a letter to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the Congress general secretary said that the battle against the pandemic cannot be fought by just "managing publicity and news".

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Noting that 2,500 cases of coronavirus were reported in UP on Friday, she said almost all the metros were flooded with Covid-19 cases, but now even the villages were not far behind in the spread.

"Quarantine centres in UP are in a pathetic state. In some places, the situation is so bad, that people are fearing mismanagement more than the coronavirus. Because of such a scenario, they are not stepping out of their homes for getting tested," Priyanka Gandhi said.

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"This is a great failure of the government," she asserted.

The state government by believing in the "no test = no coronavirus" mantra has adopted a low testing policy, she alleged.

"There is an explosive rise in Covid-19 cases. Till testing will not be increased in a transparent manner, the fight against the pandemic will be incomplete and the situation can become more frightening," she said.

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"The prime minister is a Member of Parliament from Varanasi, the defence minister from Lucknow, many other Union ministers are from UP. Why can't temporary hospitals be opened in Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra etc." Priyanka Gandhi asked.

Tightening its grip over Uttar Pradesh, Covid-19 claimed a record 50 lives in the state on Friday as the deadly virus infected 2,667 people more in the largest single-day spike till date.